The Last Pillar
by Elemmire
Summary: A man on his deathbed wishes for his granddaughter to have faith in herself and in the good left in the world even while he is dying. Thus, he makes her read the story of the Magic Knights and their final adventure ten years after...
1. Storm Night

Title: The Last Pillar

Synopsis: A man on his deathbed wishes for his granddaughter to have faith in herself and in the good left in the world even while he is dying. Thus, he makes her read the story of the Magic Knights and their final adventure ten years after the defeat of Debonair and the abolition of the Pillar System in Cephiro.

Disclaimer: I own none of the characters written here except for Grandfather, Maud, Calais, Raoul, the cab driver (whose name will be revealed in succeeding chapters), and his daughter. For the rest, we have CLAMP to thank for. Enjoy reading!

Rating: PG-13 (Language and Content)

CHAPTER ONE: Storm Night

The skies were dark and empty. It was morning, as it said so on the clock, yet the darkness that enveloped the land was equal to that of night. Suddenly, without warning, heavy torrents of rain fell from the sky, erasing all view from sight. The sound the drops made were as tiny stones being dropped on the rooftops, multiplied by the number of galvanized iron roofs in the area. The atmosphere was gloomy, dank, and unhealthy. It felt heavily of sickness and waiting death.

He waited for the sound of her footsteps. Even in the deafening sound of the rain... even in the deep of his bed... even in the weakness of his frail body...

He waited.

Then, he heard the voices. Shouting. Something--- a chair, perhaps--- being dragged across the floor. A door opening so quickly, its hinges almost came off. More shouting. The sound of skin on skin. He winced slightly.

The footsteps he had been waiting for arrived. Up the stairs they went, sounding like heavy sledgehammers being driven into the wooden steps. An upstairs door opened and slammed shut. The vibration caused his head to swim and he closed his eyes.

Moments later, the door to his room opened slowly. He did not have to expect it being slammed shut. He knew his room was her refuge, as it was for everyone else in the household. A cold, thin hand wrapped around his wrinkled ones. "I'm sorry, Grandfather," she whispered.

He opened his eyes and looked up at her young face. He wanted to touch her face, where a rather large welt was beginning to form, but his arms were to weak now to do anything. Except wait for someone to touch it. She smiled sadly. He may be old and physically unable to move but his senses were as strong as they were in his youth. The pained look in her eyes stabbed into his heart.

"What have you been doing?" he asked. His question had a double-meaning. She could answer one way or another.

"Trying to forget and get lost," she replied. He almost smiled. The way she thought and answered has always been similar to his way.

"No one ever really forgets and gets lost, Maud," he said. He saw her roll her eyes, still heavily bordered with dark, black ink. He heard her curse under her breath.

"Grandfather, I have no time for your philosophies," she said rather harshly, taking her hand away from his. He regretted the act and wished he had not said anything. Yet he was old now. He must say everything he has to say before his appointed time has come.

"Tell me what's bothering you, child..." he started to say gently but to his surprise, Maud lashed at him with all her anger.

"Child?!" she screamed hysterically. "Everyone here treats me like a child! No one trusts me! No one tells me anything! Not Father! Definitely not Mother! And _you! _You never tell me anything that's worth my while anymore, Grandfather! All you tell me are your stupid sayings and your stupid philosophies no one really understands! How could you, Grandfather? How could you just lie there like an invalid and wait to die!"

He now realized what has been bothering his granddaughter. _The school must have told her already._ Summoning strength in his voice, he said loudly, "Maud!" Thunder crashed and the dark sky was momentarily illuminated. Maud jumped, more from her grandfather's voice than the thunder. The scowl upon her face disappeared and she was humbled. She was standing away from the bed, her eyes wide with surprise. Her grandfather never really shouted. He was always calm and composed, much like her mother unless they were provoked. Maybe now, she has done what no other human being has done before. Provoke her mother and grandfather on the same day.

He waited for his heartbeat to slow down a little before saying, "Everybody dies, Maud. No one can stop it. There would be no life without death. You know that."

Her voice shook when she feebly answered, "I don't want you to leave me, Grandfather."

He did not want to leave her either but his end was near. "All things must come to an end, Maud. Come here."

Maud slowly went to him and sat beside the bed. She wanted to weep in despair but could not. There must be something wrong within her but she could not understand what it was keeping her from showing any other emotion than hatred.

"Everything's so bad and ugly, Grandfather," she told him. "I wish to be in your place. I hate to be alive. There's nothing to look forward to in a world where people hate and kill each other, where people get sick for no reason at all, where people die when they're not supposed to. Now, you're going to die and turn into dust and be forgotten."

"Does that mean you are going to forget about me, Maud?"

Maud did not answer but bowed her head down. He looked at her with sadness and regret in his eyes. How could he have let this happen? In the silence, he could hear his daughter crying and her husband Raoul trying hard to console her but to no avail. He knew she had not meant to hurt her own daughter but she was left with no choice and her emotions got in the way of good reason. She has been distraught over the news of her father's impending death. Her mother was long since gone and now she was going to lose her father as well.

_I must do something about this family before I leave forever, _he thought as he looked at his granddaughter.

"Will you open that drawer beside you and pull out a large book?"

Maud obeyed, pulling out the drawer from a side-table nearby. Inside, she saw a large, dusty volume and she took it out. Maud saw that it was a very old book; its pages were yellow and brittle to the touch.

"I love that book, Maud. Yet I never finished reading it. I wanted to but never got to the end. Read it for me, please."

Maud sighed. Much as she loved her grandfather immensely above all else, she was not in the mood to read. And her cheek was still smarting.

"Anything for you, Grandfather. Where do you want me to start?"

"From the very first."

Maud opened the cover and she marveled at the intricate drawing inside.

"Rayearth!" she gasped. Maud looked at her grandfather in disbelief. "A story about Rayearth!" Her grandfather smiled and nodded slightly. One of the reasons she enjoyed grandfather's company when she was very little was because he always told her about Cephiro and the adventures of the three Magic Knights. Maud was barely able to read when her grandfather would come to her parents' house, take her on his lap, and tell her tales of wonder and awe. Those times she craved. Now, it was her turn to tell him a story. "Grandfather, it seems quite long. You might get tired---"

He fixed his eyes on her, challenging her. "Me? Tired? Are you up to the task yourself?"

"I am!"

"Then, read, Maud. Read until the very last of the book."

Nodding, Maud turned the page and settled her eyes on the first few words of the story as the rain outside stopped its noisy dance on the roof and was reduced to a slight _pitter-patter_.

"Ten long years has passed in peace and prosperity in the land of Cephiro..."


	2. A Decade After

CHAPTER TWO: A Decade After

Ten long years have passed in peace and prosperity in the land of Cephiro. Ten long years of free breath, lush gardens, and tranquil seas. Life was good and right; no evil darkness existed and no shadow loomed above the people's hearts.

It has been ten long years since the last visitors came. Three young girls from another planet, from another time and space. Yet their consciousness has always been one with Cephiro. As was their hearts and souls. Yet, after a decade of peace, the last war with evil and the glory of the Rune Gods were all but pages in the history books, ignored or forgotten. No one now remembers clearly those strange visitors or their adventures, save for those who have known them and loved them in Cephiro.

Cephiro was as it was supposed to be: Quiet. Peaceful. Undisturbed. Paradise.

A man dressed in majestic robes and leaning upon a long staff stood on the highest point of the castle of Cephiro as he looked over the horizon. The breeze caressed his face. His eyebrows knotted.

Something was not right in Cephiro. It has been a long time since anything remotely dark has happened. Why should it come now?

And he was afraid.

She lay in bed, her eyes closed, her body wrapped around a soft feather pillow. She could feel the rays of the sun on her skin She was not asleep, only reluctant to get up and face the day. What was there to look forward to? She no longer had a life, as far as she could tell. There were several knocks on the door to her bedroom and she groaned inwardly. No, I don't want anyone coming to see what a wreck I am---

"Hikaru? Are you there?"

Hikaru almost fell out of bed when she heard that voice. She knew the owner of that voice. Oh, how lovely to hear it first thing in the morning!

She rushed to the door and engulfed in a tight embrace whoever it was on the other side.

Umi, her blue-haired friend, laughed daintily. "Hikaru! You're going to smother me!"

Hikaru let go, her red eyes swimming with much gladness over the arrival of her friend.

"It's been a long time, Umi! When have you arrived?" Hikaru asked. Umi flicked her hair back with a hand. "Only yesterday. Paris was such a blast! I'll tell you all about it later when we meet Fuu. Hikaru! It's almost nine in the morning and you're still inside your bedroom! This isn't you!"

Hikaru grinned sheepishly. "Sorry for the inconvenience. I'm glad my brothers let you in. I just--- stayed up a little too late, er, preparing my lesson plan for my students. Those kids take up much of my time, you know. Hey!"

She watched in confusion as Umi lifted both of hands up and looked at her fingers.

"Umi? Do I have dirt on under my nails? I swear I washed my hands after gardening session yesterday---"

"Hikaru!" Umi gasped. "You're not married yet?!"

Hikaru did not understand. "Er, should I be? I'm not even engaged yet. Nor do I have a steady lovelife."

"Oh, my goodness!" Umi exclaimed. Hikaru lifted an eyebrow. "Umi, as far as I can see, you're not engaged yourself."

Umi swatted Hikaru's arm painfully. Hikaru winced. "Well, I just thought that at least one of us ought to have a romantic life at our age. Hikaru, I just turned twenty-four two weeks ago! This news depresses me."

"What, your birthday or my loveless life?"

"Both!" Umi snapped. "Now, get yourself ready because I'm going to treat you and Fuu to lunch."

Hikaru smiled. When was the last time she had good lunch? "Really? Thanks! Good thing I don't have class today."

"Hikaru, it's Monday. Are you sure you don't have a class?"

"I'd skip one just for you, Umi."

An hour later, Hikaru and Umi were seated facing each other at a round table in a posh restaurant. Hikaru glanced around, feeling small and underdressed. Umi was wearing an elegant suit of silk while she was wearing an old pair of khakis, sneakers, and a floral print blouse. They were waiting for Fuu to arrive.

Umi glanced at her watch. It was thirty past twelve. "Fuu is late."

"She must be," said Hikaru. "Fuu is always busy with her patients and Kenji---"

Umi's eyes went wild. "Kenji? Who's Kenji?"

"Er, her friend? I haven't talked to Fuu lately myself but when I went to the hospital, I met her there and she was with this other doctor named Kenji Sunami. I was there, by the way, to visit one of my students who got hit and run by a car---"

Hikaru was interrupted when she felt a searing pain deep within the core of her body. It brought tears to her eyes and she struggled to control it. It ebbed for a few seconds, only to come back tenfold. Thankfully, Umi turned away and waved to someone at the door, which turned out to be Fuu. She was wearing a white coat over semi-casual attire and a black doctor's bag was beside her.

Umi and Fuu hugged. Hikaru prayed for the pain to go away and when it did, she got up and hugged Fuu, too. The pain did not return.

"Hikaru? Are you all right? You look pale," Fuu said, frowning slightly. Hikaru nervously laughed and shook her head.

"I must be hungry because you took so long!" The three of them laughed and ordered lunch. For the rest of the lunch, Hikaru was not bouncy but she participated in the conversation.

"Hikaru, I thought you wanted to be an animal trainer or something," said Umi, taking a sip of her wine. "I've been gone for four years from Japan and you're a teacher!"

Hikaru stopped slicing her steak for a few seconds, resumed, and took a bite out of her steak. "Well, things change, Umi. Pretty much fast, too. Sometimes I do volunteer work, training dogs for the police department. Income is not steady there, you know. Besides, I like children. And you, Umi? What have you been doing traipsing around Europe for four years?"

Umi laughed, wiping her chin with a table napkin. "Changing the subject, eh? Actually, I do interior design now, Hikaru. I studied for a while, learned the ropes of the business, and went for it. Income is huge, as long as you work for the right clients."

"Looks like you're very successful, Umi," Fuu remarked, smiling behind her spectacles. Umi sniffed. "Like you're not, Doctor! Look at you! You've always been good in science and all that cell stuff. Now, I've been hearing something about a Kenji Sunami."

Fuu glared at Hikaru, who raised her hands up in apology. Fuu sighed and shook her head. "Umi, Kenji and I are good friends. That's all." Like Hikaru, Fuu watched in confusion as Umi tinkered with her fingers. Seeing there was no ring, Umi gave up with a resounding sigh.

"Great! Three old ladies! This is not good!"

Hikaru and Fuu exchanged glances. Umi looked at them and asked, "What are we three waiting for? Why are we holding back? What's there to hold on to anyway?"

Umi's outburst silenced her friends. Fuu bowed her head. A dazed look passed over Hikaru's eyes and she turned her head to look out of the window, staring up at the height of the Tokyo Tower. Umi sighed for the last time and shook her head pityingly.

"We're all three of us doomed," she pronounced. She knew exactly what they were all holding on to. Or at least what Hikaru and Fuu were holding on to. She loved her life before but that was the past. The real world needed her more and so she heeded its call. Was that such a bad thing? To live as she ought to? Umi got tired of waiting in Paris and she missed home. But she missed something much more. The feeling of exhilaration, of things unknown and strange. That feeling was alien to her now and she wished she could just have it one last time. And she wanted to see Hikaru and Fuu.

"I feel sad that we're no longer high school students," Fuu said out of the blue, playing with her food.

"Or children with simple desires like adventure," said Hikaru, sadly. Umi realized she was not alone. Her friends felt what she felt.

"We're getting older," all three said simultaneously. A long silence followed. All of a sudden, Hikaru clutched at her heart, her face contorting with pain. Fuu and Umi were shocked.

"It's nothing," Hikaru told them, gasping. Fuu and Umi were worried and were even more so when blood began oozing out from Hikaru's nostrils.

"We've got to get out of here," said Fuu. Umi nodded, dropped some bills on the table and together with Fuu, ushered a weak Hikaru out of the restaurant amid stares from the other customers.

"Hold on, Hikaru," Fuu said, feeling Hikaru's pulse. She gulped. It was racing too fast for a normal human being to endure. Fuu knew Hikaru was going to die if something was not going to be done.

They brought Hikaru behind an abandoned warehouse. Umi stopped caring for her new Gucci shoes. Hikaru was more important. "Hikaru!" she said worriedly. "Hikaru! What's going on? Fuu! What's the matter with her?"

Fuu did not know either and she was starting to feel this was no ordinary illness. Hikaru seemed to be in a trance. Her pupils were dilated and blood would not stop from oozing out of her nostrils. Umi was near tears. Why is it that when they're together, something bad always happens?

"Hikaru?" Fuu asked, turning Hikaru's face towards her. Hikaru was gasping for air. "Hikaru, what is happening to you?"

Fuu and Umi were almost not too surprised when they heard Hikaru's reply.

CEPHIRO.

Umi and Fuu nodded to each other and they helped Hikaru up. Umi hailed a taxi cab and they got in. The cab driver looked at them from the rearview mirror. The girl's nose was bleeding. She might get stains on my seats.

"Well? What are you waiting for?!" Umi screamed. "Tokyo Tower and fast!"

The cab driver did not understand why they wanted to be at the Tower instead of a hospital. And the lady doctor did not seem much baffled either. He drove as fast as he could so he could get rid of them. They reached the Tower within ten minutes. The blue-haired lady paid him five thousand yen, a good three thousand above the fare. She did not ask for change and he watched curiously as the three girls made their way up the Tower. When they disappeared from view, he drove away.

Meanwhile, Umi and Fuu half-dragged Hikaru up the Tower. Hikaru was trying to speak in between gasps for air. The air around her was too thick. What was happening to her? She could have sworn she heard his prayer from that Other World. And when she tried to talk to him with her thoughts, her heart felt like it was going to explode.

When they reached the viewing deck of the Tower, they leaned Hikaru against a wall. Luckily, there were no other people there except the three of them. Hikaru faced the sun, her hands spread on the glass wall.

Fuu and Umi held Hikaru's hands. "Hikaru? Is Cephiro in trouble again?" asked Fuu.

Hikaru's eyes opened very wide and the voice that issued from her lips were not her own.

"Cephiro is fated to die."

Fuu and Umi gasped. "No!" Fuu exclaimed, shaking Hikaru's shoulders. "I've made my life here! I cannot return again, do you hear me! I'm doing this for my own soul! My sanity!"

Then, another voice echoed around them. It was a voice Fuu knew best.

"You are now bound to me. I am bound to Cephiro. You are bound to Cephiro."

Umi stepped back as Fuu fell on her knees, her hands upon her ears. Umi looked around her. Hikaru was staring at the sun like a crazy woman. Fuu was weeping silently on the floor.

At last, it spoke to her.

"You were never lost to me as I was never lost to you. Your quest is never-ending. It continues until the end of all time. For as long as your soul is alive, so is Cephiro kept alive."

"What has happened to Cephiro?" Umi dared ask the voice.

"There is no light without darkness. No birth without death. No sky without earth. No fire without water. No love without hate."

Again, Hikaru's lips opened, used by another voice, as Umi watched. "You are bound to the fate of Cephiro. The events of your world are no different from those in Cephiro. Your world is strong and old. Its foundation stretches back beyond imagination. Cephiro is an infant. It barely fits recognizable into the time and space of your world and your science. The death of Cephiro sets the beginning of the death of your world."

Fuu wiped away her tears. She stood up and said, "This will never end, will it? Wingdam?"

"That is not up to you to decide. The masters of Cephiro have heeded the call of the land. Will you, Magic Knight?"

Fuu and Umi knew they had no choice and from what they could see of Hikaru, she was far too possessed to have a choice either. The feeling of adventure Umi wanted to experience was not what she expected. She wanted it to happen in the real world. Her world. Fuu wanted a peaceful life, away from killing and hurting people. How could she become a doctor if all she was ever fated to do was to pilot a huge robot and kill Cephiro's enemies?

The two of them touched Hikaru's shoulders. Umi closed her eyes.

"What about Hikaru? Does she have a choice, Ceres?"

Ceres answered, "That is up to her. Her fate is interwoven with that of Cephiro. Her life is Cephiro's own."

"I don't understand..."

"You will when the appointed time comes. She will make her decision, as you will make yours."

"Fine," Umi said out loud. "Whatever makes you guys happy. Fuu?"

Fuu knew it was over. She will never lead a normal life. She might as well use it where it's needed. As of the moment, it was Cephiro. Fuu nodded.

"Yes, I am ready."

Umi glanced at Hikaru. "Well, I think there's no need to bother asking Hikaru."

Finally, Hikaru snapped out of her trance and she looked around in confusion. "What? What happened? What are we doing up here? Why are you holding my shoulders? Is that blood on your shoes, Umi? Fuu? What's going on?"

Umi rolled her eyes. "Just think of Cephiro, will you?"

Hikaru looked at Fuu and Fuu nodded. Hikaru shrugged. "All right. I think I heard Lexxus talking a while ago. It sounded weird. I haven't heard him for ages---"

"HIKARU!" Fuu and Umi exclaimed.

"All right, all right!" Hikaru closed her eyes and thought hard of Cephiro. The other two girls did the same and they were all engulfed in a blinding white light. Within seconds, the three of them vanished.

The cab driver blinked. Did he see what he just saw? That blinding, white light from the Tower. That was where those women were. He could not help but feel worried. That was strange.

He went to his daughter's school to speak with her teacher. A widower, he had to be responsible for his daughter in place of her mother. After parking his cab, he went inside the school grounds. He went to the playground where the children were having a nice game of softball. Several adults were watching. His daughter saw him and waved as she dodged a ball.

"Sir?" a woman asked. He turned around.

"I'm here to see my daughter's homeroom teacher," he said. "I was informed there was some trouble."

"Oh! That," the woman said, shaking her head. "I'm the principal of this school. Please follow me to my office." She turned away from him and walked back inside the building. The game has just finished and his daughter's team won. She went up to him and gave him a hug.

"Father! We won!"

"Yes, you did!"

Then, she frowned slightly. "Father, are you here about my teacher?"

"Er, yes, little one."

She sighed. "It wasn't her fault, Father. She's just magical."

He raised an eyebrow. Magical? Shouldn't his daughter be upset that her teacher told on her? Then, he remembered the meeting with the principal. He told his daughter to wait for him at the playground. He went to the principal's office and was asked to sit down.

"Sir, I would like to apologize for whatever trauma or emotional disturbance your daughter has suffered a few days ago," she said. The cab driver scratched his head. What was going on?

"I'm not here for my daughter's behavior, am I?"

The principal seemed embarrassed and said quickly. "Oh, heavens! No, sir! Your daughter is one of best and well-behaved students here. One of our teachers just went awry in her class and a lot of the children and some parents were scared out of their wits."

"Did this teacher hurt my daughter in any way?"

"Physically? Oh, no! It's not like that! You see, she just went a bit wild on them, I should say. There was no intention to hurt. No."

The cab driver nodded. "Well, my daughter seems fine. She even says this teacher is magical."

"Really?" the principal asked, not convinced. "Well, not all children are easily scared. If you need to know more, here is a background on that teacher. We had to terminate her, regretfully."

She handed him a folder. He opened it and the face that looked up at him caused him to sputter. The principal looked at him worriedly. "Sir? Are you all right?"

He nodded vigorously and closed the folder immediately. He said a quick goodbye to the principal and went to get his daughter. As they walked away from the school, he heard several whispers.

"She went as if she were possessed, you know? Speaking in riddles and strange words."

"Really? And I heard her hands bled!"

"No, you dimwit! Her nose bled. Like a river, one of the students said. And her hands sprouted those red orbs, like giant boils. I heard it was disgusting."

The cab driver was silent for the rest of the ride home. His daughter noticed this.

"The voice said she had to go back where she belonged. Father, do you think she's all right? Miss Hikaru was such a nice lady and she had beautiful stories about a magical place called Cephiro, Princess Emeraude, and a cute animal named Mokona. Father? Why are we heading for the Tower?"


	3. Cold Welcome

CHAPTER THREE: Cold Welcome

Umi and Fuu opened their eyes and saw not the bustling city of Tokyo but a wide expanse forest around them. The tall trees were all they could see and all they could hear was dead silence.

"I guess we're back," said Umi, dusting off her shoulders. She looked at her hands and saw that her old armor was back on her. So was Fuu's and Hikaru's.

"Yes, we are," Fuu said, looking up at the bright, blue sky.

"Oh, goodness! Hikaru!" Umi gasped, going on the ground to help Hikaru up. Hikaru was lying on the ground, unconscious. Blood stopped flowing from her nostrils but she was limp and pale. Fuu listened to her breathing. It sounded fine but Hikaru looked unhealthy.

"Let's get her to the castle, to Master Clef," said Umi. She felt a strange rush inside her but she suppressed it. Fuu agreed with her.

"I know where we are but I have no idea how to get to the castle," whimpered Umi, looking about, Hikaru's arm draped around her shoulders. Fuu turned several times and pointed forward.

"The air seems to be fresh from there. This is the way," she said with certainty. Umi frowned, unconvinced. "How do you know that it's the right way?"

Fuu smiled. "Ferio knew these woods like the back of his hand. He taught me."

Umi knew better than to disagree. "Oh, okay. Well, then, let's go because these stupid shoes are killing me! Hikaru, how could you look so thin and weigh this much!"

Clef was on his way to the balcony when he saw Presea's twin---Sierra---approaching. He stopped as she bowed slightly in deference.

"Master Clef, news has arrived from Autozam. NSX radar readings are flying off the scale. Something is amiss in Cephiro, isn't there?"

Clef closed his eyes, nodding. "I have been feeling it, building up. This does not bode good for Cephiro. It is an unknown foe."

Sierra frowned. "Debonair resurrected?"

Cleff shook his head. "Debonair was dark and one-sided. I don't think she'll be back, not that kind of evil. However, this might be some kind of shadow again. The monsters are popping out of thin air. Two villages have already been attacked."

Sierra sighed. "There is no end to this, Master Clef. Not a moment's peace. Ten years... is that even enough?"

"Cephiro is in bad shape. It needs something to keep it alive. You know of what I speak."

Sierra looked sad. "Yes. Is there no other way, Master Clef? There's always another way to things, right? Must it be our only resort?"

Clef had no answer. He was about to tell her so, that he was out of ideas, when he caught a strange thought in his mind. Sierra noticed the change in the expression of Clef's face.

"Puu puu puuu!"

The cute, little animal jumped into Sierra's arms. Clef looked at Mokona and the red orb on his forehead glowed brightly. Clef looked at Sierra happily.

"They have come back!" Clef hurried to the balcony. Sierra stepped beside him and they looked over the woods of Cephiro. Sierra felt it then. Their presence.

"Yes, Master Clef. Indeed."

"My prayers have been answered," Master Clef whispered as Mokona jumped off from Sierra's arms. He passed by Lantis, who was looking for Clef. Mokona bumped his leg gently and went on his way out of the castle. Lantis saw the look in Sierra's eyes and forgetting about Clef and whatever it was he needed to speak with him about, Lantis hurried out of the castle, his black cape flying behind him.

He was out of the gates, upon his black stallion, when Mokona appeared. The little animal waited. "Mokona!" he commanded. Mokona jumped up and into Lantis' arms. Lantis dug his boots' heels into the sides of his black stallion and snapped the reins. He rode down the road and diverted from the track into the dense woods.

So. They were back. It should not have happened. She should never have come back, the silly girl.

Umi was too tired to go on. She stopped and leaned Hikaru upon the giant roots of a tree. Umi herself collapsed beside Hikaru. She wiped the beads of sweat from her face as Fuu calculated in her mind how to reach the castle quickly.

"Oh Fuu! The lunch we ate is almost gone and I'm tired!" she groaned. Umi removed her shoes and saw the large welts and calluses. She wanted to scream and cry. So much for Paris.

"I know, Umi. But Hikaru's not well. We must do all we can to help her. Only Clef or someone wise from Cephiro can tell us what's the matter with Hikaru. The blood she lost from those crazy nosebleeds was enough to cure five hemophiliacs. Come on, Umi! Let's keep on walking. We don't want to stay in the woods after dark."

Umi grunted and helped Hikaru up. They walked for a few more hours until even Fuu was weak. The three of them sat down on the ground.

"This is hopeless! The woods here are tricky, Fuu! We're not going to make it to the castle before dark. Oh, by the way, it's already dark!"

Fuu was exhausted. She knew they were on the right track but the path was too long. Maybe they could just stay for the night. But the woods were dangerous and if Wingdam was telling her the truth, monsters could very well be abounding in the region.

They barely had rekindled their physical strength when they heard something move in the dark. Umi and Fuu perked up their ears. Instantly, they backed towards Hikaru, willing to protect their unconscious friend from anything that may come in the night.

Then...

"Puu puu puuu!"

Umi was in the middle of a karate chop when something soft and furry landed on her.

"Aieee! Get it off me! Get it off me!" she shrieked, trying to get whatever it was attacking her to go away. All she heard was Fuu's laughter. Incensed, Umi shouted, "Fuu! What's so funny? I'm getting attacked here!"

"Oh, Umi! That's no monster! That's just Mokona!" It was too dark to see but Fuu knew that sound. She approached and tried to get Mokona off Umi, still laughing.

"Fuu! If it's not a monster, then what's that hovering above Hikaru?"

Fuu was suddenly seized with fear. She turned around and by the dim light of the moon, she finally saw what Umi was talking about. The monster already had its front legs, armed with sharp claws, on Hikaru's shoulders. The claws dug into her skin.

"Puu puu puuu!" Mokona jumped away from Umi and she and Fuu were left alone to watch in horror as the monster opened its wide, sharp-toothed mouth to eat Hikaru's red head.

Just then, a swift, slashing sound echoed in the woods and the next thing Umi and Fuu saw was the monster's head lying several meters away from its body and Hikaru. Both of them looked up in wonder as a tall figure walked out of the dark, bent over Hikaru, and carried her easily in his arms.

"Lantis," Fuu whispered. Lantis showed himself to them and Fuu and Umi heaved sighs of relief. Mokona appeared and bounced into Umi's arms.

Before they could thank Lantis, he said, "You shouldn't have come back." Then, he walked away from them. Umi growled and followed after him, Fuu just behind her, more curious about Lantis' behavior than annoyed like Umi was.

"Why, you jerk! Do you think we wanted to be here in the first place! If your crappy world didn't need us so much, we wouldn't even be here, risking our necks to save you! The least you aliens could do is thank us! Shouldn't be here, eh? Well, tell that to your Rune Gods!""

Lantis stopped walking and said to Mokona, as if he heard nothing of what Umi just told him, "Get them a carriage."

"Puu puu puuu!" _Poof_! A carriage materialized. Lantis sat Hikaru inside. Fuu and Umi followed. Then, he attached the carriage to the saddle of his stallion. He got onto the stallion and slapped the reins. The stallion reared and Lantis drove hard.

"We're lucky Mokona and Lantis arrived," said Fuu, a slight frown on her face, thinking. Umi had her arms crossed, still annoyed at Lantis for the cold welcome. "That monster almost killed Hikaru. I got waylaid by Mokona."

"I just want to get into the castle and soak my poor feet in a basin of warm water," Umi said, leaning back against the plush interior of the carriage. "Whoever our enemy is this time, I just want to chop his or her head off and go have a real life in our world. I mean, I crave adventure, Fuu, but this! This is just plain suicide! Can't we ever come here just for fun, you know? Like we were on a vacation. Why do we always have to come here and kill? I'm tired of that, Fuu.""

"I couldn't agree more." Fuu was more than just reluctant to be back. She was afraid to see Ferio. Their past was past; she has no wish to bring it back again.

A few minutes later, the carriage halted smoothly. The door opened and Lantis was there. Fuu and Umi (ignoring Lantis completely) got off first. Lantis reached in and carried Hikaru from the carriage. Mokona appeared again and led the way into the castle. Inside the throne room, they saw an entourage waiting.

Clef, with his long staff, stood in the center of the group, surrounded by Caldina and LasGaspar, Ascot and Innouva. Sierra stood beside Clef.

"Lantis," Clef said. Lantis approached him, carrying Hikaru to him. Clef laid a hand on Hikaru's head. The expression on Clef's face was grave.

"I should have known. Sierra, lead Lantis to a room where Hikaru can recover." Sierra bowed and Lantis followed her out of the throne room. Caldina and the others quickly went around the other two Magic Knights and exchanged pleasantries.

"We missed you for so long!" Caldina said excitedly. Fuu and Umi smiled. Umi looked at Ascot.

"Are you getting taller or am I getting smaller?"

Ascot chuckled. "I'm younger. I must be getting taller. You look well yourself, Umi."

Umi giggled. "If it weren't for your chest looking straight at my face instead of thin air, I would have said you haven't changed a bit, Ascot."

"Hey! What's the racket about?"

Everyone turned around to see Ferio, holding a basket of vegetables in one hand. They made way and Ferio saw Fuu. No one spoke for a long time. Fuu realized it was rude of her to ignore him. She was about to walk towards him and shake his hand cordially or maybe even give him a hug when a small voice shouted, "Father! Father!"

Ferio, too surprised to see Fuu standing in front of him, did not notice a small boy wrap himself around his legs. Fuu saw the boy, however, and her heart broke a thousand times over.

The boy looked from Fuu to Ferio and back. He stepped towards Fuu and tugged at the hem of her white coat. "Miss, you look like my mother." Hearing the boy say this made it all the more painful for Fuu but she forced a smile and offered a hand to Ferio.

"Hello, Ferio."

Ferio was speechless. Nevertheless, he extended out a hand to her. He held her hand tightly, not wanting to let go. He missed her hands and her touch...

"Get some rest, Umi and Fuu," Clef said, breaking into Fuu and Ferio's thoughts. "We have urgent matters to discuss tomorrow for I will not tell you with your bodies and minds in such disarray. Caldina, Ascot--- take care of them."

"Of course!" said Ascot. He led Umi to her quarters and fixed her a basin of warm water for her feet while Caldina took Fuu to another room. Caldina knew enough about Ferio and Fuu but did not dare ask.

"I feel so tired," Fuu said. Caldina helped her change her clothes and tucked Fuu to bed.

"That's why you need to sleep. Tomorrow, the kitchens shall prepare for you a sumptuous breakfast."

Fuu nodded, closed her eyes, and quickly went off to sleep, dreaming about Ferio and the little boy that should have been her son. Their son.

Hikaru woke up in the middle of the night. Her nightclothes were drenched with sweat and so was her bed. She looked around and found herself in an elegant bedroom. Her casual earth clothes were laid out on a chair nearby. Hikaru stood up and stretched. Her bones and muscles felt like they have not been used for years.

"Time to go to school," she muttered. She took two steps away from the bed and remembered. "Oh, yeah. I got fired." Shaking her head, Hikaru pulled the bedsheet from the bed and used it to wrap around her. She also remembered she was no longer in her world but back in Cephiro. Early mornings in Cephiro were very cold.

When Hikaru went out of the room, no one else was awake. No one littered in the corridor and she thought of walking around to warm up her aching body. I feel like I've just been into battle, she thought. Hikaru walked quietly and went outside the vast castle to a nearby water fountain. She washed her face to get rid of the remnants of sleep and looked up at the sky.

The sun was only beginning to rise and some stars were still visible. Hikaru went back into the castle and walked around, careful not to make any sound. As she toured the castle for the nth time, she reached a long and dark corridor. Hikaru felt something tug at her heart and she walked down to the end, where a door stood ajar. She held the knob and pushed the door slowly.

Hikaru found herself in a room, darkly lit by a glowing orange light. She walked forward, getting closer and closer to the source of that light as her ears began to pick up the sound of falling water.

I've been here before. I know this place.

She stopped and stared. In front of her was Escudo. The last time she saw the sword, it had joined with the crown of Princess Emeraude.

By right it belongs to you. You are bound to it as it is to you. You and Cephiro are One.

Hikaru turned her head around. She could have sworn she heard someone talking to her. But the voice seemed so distant, she could barely make out who said the words.

It wants me to take it. Take it. Take it again.

She stepped forward, the floating sword inches from her face, as her hands steadily reached out to take hold of the sword.

Cold steel on the skin of her neck stopped Hikaru from going any further. She turned her eyes to her right and saw the dark, towering figure of Lantis. He had his sword right under Hikaru's neck. Hikaru held up her hands in surrender as Lantis used his sword to push Hikaru gently away from Escudo. When they were too far away for Hikaru to reach out for the sword, Lantis placed his sword back to its sheath at his side and looked down at Hikaru.

"Escudo is mine," Hikaru told him. Lantis stared at her with a deadpan expression on his face.

"It belongs to Cephiro."

I am One with Cephiro. Hikaru opened her mouth to say the words but a cold fear of what she was thinking seized her and she closed her mouth again. Lantis started to walk towards her and Hikaru's instinct told her to step back. For every step her took towards her, Hikaru took a step back until they were both out of the room. Then, Lantis closed the door shut.

Hikaru was suddenly too afraid. Of what? Of whom? Lantis? But she liked him. Maybe even more than liked him. But all Hikaru could think of was to run away and forget him. What was she to Lantis, anyway? She will always be the Strange Girl who killed his brother and the Last Pillar of Cephiro. True, she and Fuu and Umi have made peace with the fact that the salvation of Cephiro lay in Zagato and Emeraude's life sacrifice.

Kill. All Hikaru knew was to kill. Kill the enemies of a foreign land she barely knew. A land that cared nothing for her, only for what she and the other girls could offer. Hikaru desired to be needed. Truly needed. For comfort. For hope. For the touch of her hand. For her jokes. For her laughter. For her bad singing voice.

Clef was too serious and old to take notice of such things. Sierra was too mature and womanly. Caldina would probably get the jokes but wouldn't really ask for Hikaru's advice on love; she already had LasGaspar for that. Ascot had Umi. Fuu and Ferio had each other.

And Lantis... Lantis never needed anybody. He took care of himself. Hikaru thought he likes the idea of being alone. Then she must leave him alone. She doesn't need him either.

They stared at each other for a long time until Hikaru could bear the pressure of his dark stare so she turned and almost collided with Sierra. Sierra smiled, "Hikaru, Master Clef wants to see you and the others after you've had your breakfast."

Hikaru only nodded and ran frantically away from Lantis and Sierra. Sierra looked up at Lantis, whose eyes followed Hikaru's blanket-wrapped form until she disappeared from sight.

"It is her will that brought her back to Cephiro," Sierra told him. Lantis stared straight ahead as Sierra walked forward and stopped beside him, facing the other end of the corridor---the Door.

"There's no place for her here," was all Lantis said and with a flurry of black silk, he walked away from Sierra. Sierra stared at the closed door in front of her, her hand caressing the smooth exterior.

"How did it come to this, Emeraude? How did it come to this?"


	4. Stagnant Peace

Just a teensy-weensy reply to a certain "kawaii-pal" and "angel.w1ng" who reviewed my work... THANKS for even taking time to read! It's nice to know some people actually care for my work. Hehe. I always love writing stuff, fanfic or original fic, whatever. It's a way for me to detoxify myself after all those crappy college academics...

Anyway, "kawaii-pal", you wanted to know about pairings. Hm, let me see... Umi/Clef... Maybe! You're just going to have to wait a few more chapters. Don't you just love that element of surprise when reading a story?

Besides, pretty girls like Umi often beat the rest of us dorks when it comes to romance. So, I tried to break away from that stereotype by introducing her into the story as just like one of us. I want to develop her personality and thoughts about Cephiro first before she confronts any other feelings for that "special someone", whoever that will be. I'm just as curious as you guys are!

Now, moving on with the story...

CHAPTER FOUR: Stagnant Peace

Umi, all dressed up and clean, went to the spacious kitchen for breakfast. She arrived and saw that Hikaru was already there, sipping from a huge mug.

"What's that?" Umi asked as a kindly female palace servant placed a large plate of sumptuous meats, eggs, and bread before her. Umi seated herself opposite Hikaru.

"Hot chocolate," replied Hikaru, taking another sip. Umi clucked her tongue.

"Hikaru, it must be over forty degrees here!" Umi speared a wide slice of meat into her mouth. "Mmm! This tastes even better than Parisien food! What's it made of?"

"What you don't know won't hurt you." Umi laughed and without looking at where the voice came from, she knew. Ascot.

"May I join you, ladies?" he asked. Hikaru grinned and nodded. Ascot asked the servant for cold water and some bread. "I already ate with Caldina before they went to patrol the woods."

"About the monsters?"

Umi and Ascot turned to look at the doorway. Fuu entered and sat down facing Hikaru. Hikaru raised an eyebrow at Fuu and Umi. "Monsters? What monsters?"

Sighing, Umi told Hikaru of the events of the past day, starting from her crazy nosebleed in the restaurant. Hikaru seemed genuinely afraid.

"Do you think it has something to do with what's troubling Cephiro?" she asked Ascot. Ascot shrugged.

"Only Master Clef really knows what's going on," he replied. "Sometimes he tells Sierra about many things and Sierra, who trusts Lantis, tells him. Primera, that silly fairy, overhears the conversation and so blunders about it to Mokona, who communicates with anyone he damn well pleases. As far as I know, I usually get the news last nowadays. I couldn't care much, really."

"At least you get the news," muttered Fuu. Umi threw her friend a worried glance and went back to finish her breakfast. Hikaru said nothing because she knew nothing.

"I want to know about the monsters," said Hikaru eagerly. Ascot sighed.

"We don't know where they're coming from. So far, only very few of them have been spotted. Still, they pose a very grave threat if left unchecked."

"You mean to say they've been here quite a long time?" Umi asked.

"Master Clef thinks that they were never really gone," Ascot told her. "I think they're remnants of past evils done to Cephiro. There's always a dark side to life here. It sucks because no one's really used to much peace around here, except the young ones. The older ones, myself included, still have a not-so-easy time adjusting."

"Not even after ten years?" Fuu asked. "Isn't peace what you people always wanted?"

Ascot nodded. "I know. It may be hard to understand but something's down in Cephiro. We all feel it in our gut. It's like... How should I put it? Like... Cephiro's reached its limit, you know? It's like Cephiro has been fated to die or has been dying from the beginning of its inception."

"Aren't we all?" muttered Hikaru, finishing her mug of hot chocolate. "I cannot lie that I am not bothered by what happened to me before I got here because I am." She looked meaningfully at Umi and Fuu. "I want to know why we're back here when everything was supposed to be all right with Cephiro. I gave Cephiro my word of honor that it shall have lasting peace until its end. The end is far too soon."

At that moment, Sierra appeared by the doorway. "Master Clef is waiting."

Hikaru, Umi, and Fuu all stood up. Ascot said, "I hope you tell me what's the matter with Cephiro. I hate being left in the dark." Umi winked at him and followed Sierra to where Clef was. They were led in a room facing the sun. The wise mage of Cephiro was sitting on a couch. Hikaru, Umi, and Fuu inclined their heads towards him. Sierra did so as well and left the room.

"Please, have a seat," said Clef. The three ladies sat down beside each other, facing Clef. His staff lay prone on the floor beside him.

Hikaru had wanted to ask about the monsters and about what was happening to her but decided against it. She suddenly felt selfish. She should be asking about Cephiro, not herself.

Clef looked at each of them long and hard. He took time memorizing their faces and recalling years gone by when they were young and naïve girls from another world.

"So much time has passed," Master Clef began as the three listened in silence. "So much time gone to waste. You do not need to ask why you have been called back to Cephiro."

"It's good to be back," Umi lied but Master Clef saw right through her ad she quailed beneath his stare.

"There need not be falsehoods between us, Magic Knights," he told them. Of course, what was the point? Master Clef was powerful and so was his mind-reading ability. Umi wanted to kick herself. "You need not deny that the idea of being back in Cephiro is not a welcome thought. For after all, you hold no loyalty to this place and no one here holds you to such a loyalty."

Umi suddenly snapped, "Oh, hell! What's this speech? Loyal or not, we always find ourselves back here whenever something a little fidgety goes wrong in Cephiro! Really, Master Clef! Are you people here that helpless?"

Fuu piped in. "I do not understand it either, Master Clef. For a long time now, I have been thinking that you are the most powerful person in the whole of Cephiro. What do you still need us for?"

"It was not my wish to have you back here," Clef said defensively.

Hikaru, who had not spoken a word, finally said, "I heard you praying. Praying for Cephiro. Praying for salvation."

Umi rolled her eyes and pointed at Hikaru. "Hear that? She heard you! What kind of salvation do you need now, eh? Honestly, Master Clef, and I just might as well say it out loud now because I don't like you reading my thoughts, that I'm tired of killing. I'm tired. It's over. I think I must have sustained a million internal injuries here and I don't want a repeat of that painful experience."

Clef remained calm despite Umi's verbal attack. He said, "I prayed for salvation, yes. A permanent one. Cephiro was meant to be a paradise for our people."

"So was earth until Eve ate that stupid fruit and got us all headed for doom," Umi muttered. Master Clef closed his eyes for a moment. He turned his face slightly so that the warm rays of the sun touched his cheek. Hikaru did the same.

Permanent salvation, Fuu thought. Who can give it to Cephiro? How? Then, it dawned on Fuu.

"Master Clef---"

"Cephiro needs a Pillar," Hikaru said for her. Umi stopped glowering at Clef to look at Hikaru. Fuu sighed. "It is the only way, isn't it, Master Clef?"

He gave her no answer because he did not want to. It would be too much of a burden. He could not let Hikaru go through that again. And Lantis would go berserk...

"Cephiro could not be ridden of these monsters without the Pillar," Clef explained. He picked up his staff and stood up, then faced the sun. "Cephiro's existence is based on a Supreme Will, that of the Pillar. This has been so for eons until Princess Emeraude. The Pillar is the foundation of Cephiro. The Pillar gives life to Cephiro. Without a Pillar, all life ends here."

"But I wished for that system to be abolished!" Hikaru said forcibly. She clenched her hands. "I don't understand! I wished for it! That wish was supposed to have been granted."

Clef turned and looked at her with such sadness and pain in his eyes. "It was, Hikaru."

It took Hikaru and the others a while before fully realizing what was at stake. Hikaru felt her world crash down upon her. I wished for it... Remove the Pillar System... Remove Cephiro's life...

"Oh dear," Umi whispered. Fuu closed her eyes. _This could not be happening._

"I... I w-wished for Cephiro's... death," Hikaru whispered. Looking up at Clef with regret in her eyes, "It was not my intention to... I didn't know..."

Clef smiled at her. "Hikaru, it was not your fault. It cannot be helped for such is the way things were destined for Cephiro. Sacrifice is what gives life to the planet. That's why all things in Cephiro are loved and taken good care of. We value life, Hikaru. It is the only way the people can repay the single life and freedom given up for their own."

His face turned a little darker as a passing cloud obliterated the light coming from the sun. "The Pillar represents all that is good and pure. Yet unknown to many, the Pillar also represents Cephiro as a whole. Hence, the Pillar is good and evil, light and dark, male and female, courage and fear. What makes an individual a Pillar is the ability of control and selflessness, enough to restrain the dark side of the body's soul and that of Cephiro.

"The people of Cephiro have free will. They can think and do, as they like. Yet Cephiro is a magical place where a single thought can make or unmake great things. The possibilities in Cephiro are limitless. This creates a problem for us. Without a Pillar, there is no Supreme Will to control unbound thoughts and actions and emotions. The Pillar is balance, integrity, and security. Without a Pillar, we risk creating a second Debonair. Peace has become stagnant in Cephiro."

Clef fell silent and waited for a few moments before speaking again. "Your body, Hikaru, is reacting to Cephiro's suffering. It runs deeper than we think. The short time that you became the Pillar of Cephiro has made an impact on your body that whatever ails Cephiro, so it ails you. I wish I could help ease your suffering but I cannot. And because Umi and Fuu are bound to you, so have they come back together with you."

The cloud passed and light flooded again into the room. _One with Cephiro_. Fuu suddenly found herself thinking about Ferio's son's future. Fuu then asked, "What would you have us do, Master Clef?"

"Find the next Pillar of Cephiro."

Hikaru sighed and stood up. "All right, Master Clef. We will do all we can."

"But how would we know if we've found the true Pillar?" asked Umi. Clef replied, "The Rune Gods are elements of Cephiro. I assume that it is by their power, wielded through you, that you shall find the true Pillar."

The three Magic Knights then asked permission to leave. Clef let them go. Outside, the three started talking.

"Hikaru, you and Eagle were the last ones to hold that crown," said Umi, walking alongside Hikaru. Fuu was on Hikaru's other side.

Smiling, Hikaru said, "I know what it is you're thinking but no. I have forfeited the right to become the Pillar when I wished for the system to be abolished. That means, I basically abolished myself."

"Then, what about Eagle?" asked Fuu.

Hikaru shrugged. "If he's still alive, I doubt he'd become the next Pillar. My wish was granted, right? And Cephiro can only have that power vested in one individual at a time. Now I wish it had been him instead of me."

"Puu puu puuu!"

Mokona jumped onto Umi and she shrieked. "Get off me you silly animal!" Mokona next jumped into Hikaru's arms and stayed there. Hikaru laughed. "Mokona! How have you been, little thing?"

"Puu puu puu puuu!"

She laughed again. "I guess that translates to really, really good! And you got heavier and fatter, too! Now, what on Cephiro have you been eating, eh?"

Mokona made his ears flap and _poof_! A huge banquet of food and beverage appeared at the other end of the hallway. Hikaru's eyes almost dropped out of their sockets.

"FOOD!" Hikaru exclaimed, jumping up and down and ogling at the various dishes. Even Umi and Fuu were impressed. "Oh Mokona! You're so adorable!"

"Puu puu puuu!"

While the girls and Mokona delved into the feast, they did not notice the dark figure that had been watching them since they went into Clef's room.

Clef, who had been standing directly facing the sun after the Magic Knights left, said, "What now, Lantis?"

Lantis stood a few steps from Clef. "You did not tell them."

"That was the plan. The less they know, the better. I only told them what was necessary for them to know."

"Send them back to where they came from."

"I cannot do that. If they will it with all their heart and soul, then they will go back."

Lantis' voice became stronger. "Don't play with them, Clef! They are not dolls or slaves! Only death awaits the Pillar and you know it!"

"Lantis? You sound afraid. Your emotions are clouding your sense of reason---"

"You know that the only way for the system to be abolished is by death! Leave them out of this! Cephiro is not their place! Get them back to where they belong!"

Then, Clef turned around swiftly and bashed the floor loudly with the end of his long staff. He fixed angry eyes at Lantis and shouted, "I know what I'm doing, Lantis! I am still the High Mage of Cephiro and it is upon my shoulders that the future of Cephiro rests! My responsibility is greater than anyone can ever imagine and I will do everything in my power to ensure that my duty is carried out perfectly!"

"You do not understand that you are sending them blind into their death! They have done too much for Cephiro! Too much!"

"I know! And I understand more than you do, Lantis! I understand that your love for---"

Sierra suddenly came into the room and Clef cut himself short, took a deep breath and calmed himself down. "I don't want to choose between them and Cephiro. I did not want it to be. This is the reason why I am exhausting all possible options we have before we turn to our last resort. Self-sacrifice is the only way by which we can attain eternal salvation for Cephiro. It is the only way, Lantis. I, in my weakness, cannot do that. And neither can you. Not even for the woman who has your love and affection."

Lantis wanted to say something but instead, turned away in anger and left the room, almost knocking Sierra aside. Sierra approached Clef who sat down and was massaging the bridge of his nose.

"You cannot blame Lantis," said Sierra gently. "He's afraid, like the rest of us."

"He shows it in the meanest and most disrespectful way imaginable."

"I think you're quite wrong with your assessment of him. Lantis will give up his own happiness for Cephiro and for her."

Clef looked up at Sierra. "That sacrifice is not his to make. I cannot live to see another Emeraude, Sierra! She lived her life as the Pillar in a tangible form, susceptible to distraction and temptation of human life and freedom. The Pillar must exist, no longer as tangible but as an eternal force present in all things in Cephiro."

Sierra shook her head pityingly. "So then, you sent the Magic Knights to look for someone willing to commit suicide for Cephiro, just when life seemingly has begun to be good for the people."

Clef snorted. "With monsters attacking? These people are creating them from their thoughts! I have no ability to keep such dark thoughts and emotions from materializing. I wish I had."

"Don't beat up yourself over this squabble with Lantis," Sierra advised him, patting his shoulder. "The Magic Knights will find a way. They always do. The fact that they are here means there is still hope for Cephiro. What makes me afraid is that Hikaru would not be able to use Escudo if indeed, she had forfeited the right of becoming the Pillar. Hikaru is basically defenseless."

"Once a Pillar, always a Pillar," Clef told Sierra. "For the most part, the essence of Escudo is still Hikaru and her bond with the Rune God. However, the true nature of the sword will only come to the true Pillar. Hikaru may still have use of it in battle, perhaps, as Escudo but the sword's full potential can only be reached in the hands of the true Pillar of Cephiro."

"Then I shall hand it over to Hikaru for the time being. When they have found the true Pillar, Escudo will know." Sierra walked away from Clef. "When do you want them to leave?"

"As soon as possible."

Sierra nodded, inclined her head, and left the room. Clef looked up at the sky, closed his eyes, and prayed.

_Let this not be the end of Cephiro. Let this not be our doom. Pillar of Cephiro, when will you come to deliver us?_


	5. The Trouble With Cephiro

_Erratum: By the way, I only realized I got so mixed up with some of the characters that I completely forgot who was dead, who is still alive, and who does not exist at all! Some of the names I only asked from my younger brother because we used to watch the series when we were very young (not that I'm old...) and that was quite a long time ago. I guess with the passing of time, we have somehow forgotten certain characters. LasGaspar IS Lafarga and Innouva is DEAD. Thanks for pointing those out._

CHAPTER FIVE: The Trouble with Cephiro

"Hikaru? Hikaru? Wake up."

Hikaru opened her eyes and sat up reluctantly. She brushed the sleep off her eyes and yawned widely. "Huh? W-What?" Blinking several times, Hikaru tried to see who it was that had woken her up. A pair of green eyes framed with wide eyeglasses came into view.

"Oh, Fuu! It's you." Hikaru squinted through the lace curtains of the wide windows of her bedroom and saw the moon and stars still hanging up the black skies of Cephiro. "Fuu, it's in the middle of the night, I think. Is something wrong?"

Fuu shook her head. "No. Just that Sierra wants to arm us this early."

Hikaru was confused. Her brain was still half-asleep. "Arm us? I think I've got those already---"

"Weapons and armor, Hikaru," Fuu said, smiling. "We're going tomorrow to scour the countryside."

Groaning, Hikaru plopped back into bed. "Aw, Fuu! It's still too early! Can't Sierra wait for just a few more hours until I get some more sleep?"

Fuu looked long and hard at Hikaru and saw that Hikaru had circles around her eyes. "You haven't been sleeping well, have you, Hikaru?"

Hikaru sighed and sat up again. "Fine. No, I'm not sleeping well at all. Not since we were still back on earth."

"Why?" asked Fuu worriedly.

Hikaru gave a sardonic laugh. "First of all, I got fired from school."

"What?"

"Yes, Fuu. Hard to believe, huh? I don't know exactly why but I think I must have done something that really scared the school, or at least some of the people there." No, she had no idea what had happened. All Hikaru could remember were the bloodstains all over her front and the horrified looks on the faces of the other teachers and some of her students.

Fuu felt sorry for her friend. "Oh, Hikaru! I'm so sorry! I didn't know..."

"Second of all, I keep thinking about what to do with Cephiro." Turning to look at Fuu, Hikaru said desperately, "I feel like I'm being sucked into this great chasm from which there is no escape! Yet I also feel like I don't want to escape! Fuu, am I finally losing my mind? I no longer understand anything in my life! I feel so lost!"

Fuu sighed and stood up from Hikaru's bed. How uncanny, that Hikaru felt as she did right now. Lost.

"I feel like I belong nowhere," said Hikaru, finally getting out of bed.

"Bingo."

"Oh, what the heck!" Hikaru stretched up her arms. "What can we do, Fuu, huh? We're here, we might as well do something productive with our time, right?"

Fuu smiled at her friend. Hikaru. Always the optimist. "Sure thing, Hikaru. But for now, Sierra would be waiting for us."

The two women walked down the long corridor until they reached a circular room. Umi and Sierra were already there.

Umi flipped her hair backward. "Hmph! I almost thought you guys weren't coming!"

Hikaru smiled apologetically. "Oops! Sorry, Umi!"

"Yeah, yeah. Whatever. Let's just get on with it so I can catch up on my beauty sleep."

Sierra then said a long incantation and the three were wrapped around in a bright, white light.

"Pray with me, Magic Knights," she coaxed them as they closed their eyes and let Sierra's power envelope them. "Open your heart to me."

The first onslaught of thought brought Sierra to her knees. _These girls are suffering inside them. They feel incomplete. _Sierra almost could not breath as their thoughts and feelings all blended inside her. Tears began to come out of Sierra's eyes. _How can anyone bear so much pain and not die of it?_

_Then I must do what I can to make them perfect. Knights of Cephiro. Awaken!_

When the Magic Knights opened their eyes, they were back on the ground. Nothing seemingly changed. They were still wearing the same breastplates and gauntlets.

"Er, Sierra?" asked Hikaru, checking out her clothes. "Where's---"

"Where are our weapons?" Umi raised her eyebrows at Sierra. She was clearly disappointed. Umi was half-expecting her clothes to become much more grand and intimidating, perhaps fashionable. And her saber. Oh, how she missed holding one!

Sierra smiled benignly at them. "Carrying weapons out in the open would not do good for you when you go out of the castle. They will appear to you only when you need them."

"Like, for example, a giant monster is two seconds away from tearing our skin to pieces?" Umi asked, annoyed. She really was expecting a lot and got disappointed a lot.

Sierra continued to smile. "You're a great warrior, Umi. I'm sure that even before a minute has passed, you would have killed that monster before it could do any harm to you or the others."

Umi opened her mouth to say something probably nasty but Fuu patted Umi's shoulder to stop her. Embarrassed, Fuu said, "Umi's just sleepy. Maybe we should get a few hours of sleep before we leave."

Nodding, Sierra said, "Yes, I understand. I wish there was another time but my powers manifest a thousand times at this time of the day, just when the moon and the sun are simultaneously appearing in the skies of Cephiro. And I wanted to give you only the best of what I can offer."

Hikaru rushed forward to embrace Sierra. It felt soothing to Hikaru. "Thank you, Sierra. We appreciate what you've done for us. I only hope there was something we can do for you, too."

Sierra gave a low-sounding laugh. "Well, I'll think about it while you sleep. There might be something. Now, get back to bed."

The three women walked out of the room to head back to their respective bedrooms. Umi, humbled yet prideful enough to admit she was, said huffily, "I don't understand that woman! She's always so nice! It's irritating!"

Hikaru and Fuu giggled. "Oh, Umi!" Hikaru said, holding Umi's hand. "Sierra's always very nice to us. Don't be angry with her. Please?"

Umi sighed. "Fine! I only hope she does not make Mokona or any other freaky, little animal tag along with us."

They were already near their rooms when someone stepped out of one of the rooms. They stepped back, surprised. It was Ferio.

Hikaru and Umi exchanged glances, then focused their eyes on Fuu. Fuu, not wanting to let them or Ferio see the emotional turmoil, smiled widely. Too wide, in fact.

"Oh! Good morning, Ferio!" she said chirpily. Hikaru lifted arm to nudge Fuu but Umi grabbed her forearm and dragged her from the place.

"Umi!" Hikaru wailed as Umi continued to pull her away from Fuu and Ferio.

"Shut up, Hikaru! Let's leave them alone!"

"B-But Fuu doesn't want to---" Umi stopped dragging her when they were too far to be heard.

"Hikaru, don't be dense! Of course, Fuu wants to be with him! So much so that she's very afraid of being near him!"

Hikaru did not argue with Umi. She balled a fist and placed it on her heart. Yes, she understood Fuu completely. Umi's loud yawn brought Hikaru back to her senses.

"Okay, Umi. Let's go to sleep."

"Ah! Finally!"

It was as if Hikaru and Umi had never been there only moments ago. Fuu and Ferio stared at each other for a very long time.

"I think I should go back to bed," Fuu said. She walked briskly forward but Ferio held her arm, keeping her from going any further.

"Fuu..."

"Don't make this any harder than it already is, Ferio. It's over, you know that. Now, let me go. Please." Her plea came barely as a whisper. Ferio removed his hold on her but she did not run. She walked away from him.

"It was you who left, Fuu. Not I."

Fuu stopped, her back on him. "Yes, I know."

"But why? We had so much going for us here! Why didn't you stay?"

Fuu swallowed, keeping her tears in check. "Because I was afraid that if I woke up, you'd be just a dream. I can't live in a dream forever, Ferio. I had to live in reality. I-I had to find someone real."

She did not see Ferio frown. "I'm as real as any other man in the universe, Fuu. It was real, our love. It was."

"Listen to what you're saying," Fuu said, as she started to walk away from him again. "Was, Ferio, was. Go back to your wife and son. They need you."

"Fuu---" But Fuu had already rounded a corner and Ferio was left alone. When she could no longer stand it, Fuu leaned backwards against a wall and slumped to the floor, weeping. She had been sobbing for quite a while when a shadow fell above her and she raised her tear-stained face to meet the eyes of the last person she expected to be there at that moment.

Forcing a smile on her face, Fuu stood up and calmed herself down. "H-Hello, L-Lantis."

Lantis showed no expression on his face as, to Fuu's bewilderment, he offered a white handkerchief to her. Fuu took the handkerchief graciously and wiped her eyes with it.

"T-Thanks," she said. Lantis asked, "When are you leaving?"

"After the sun rises up or rather, after Hikaru has her breakfast," Fuu answered.

"You'll die if you continue on this mission Clef has sent you to," he said. Fuu shrugged.

"Maybe."

"You sound like you don't care."

Fuu sniffed. "But I do! I don't want to die and neither do Umi and Hikaru! We have so much left to do in our world!"

"Then why don't you will yourselves back? Go back and never return."

"You have no idea how much I want to go back to our world, Lantis," Fuu told him. "But somehow, Cephiro does not want to let us go. It's holding on to us that no matter how much we desire to go home, we could not. It's keeping us here and we can do nothing about it."

Lantis sighed in defeat. "Be careful of the people outside the castle. They are wary of strangers, especially of you."

Fuu frowned. "Why?"

"Because you come from the castle. The people are rebelling against our policies."

"On what?"

"Alliance with other nations. Autozam, Fahren, and Cizeta."

"But aren't they Cephiro's friends?" asked Fuu, more confused than ever. "If it weren't for their help the last time we've been here, Cephiro would have been destroyed."

The dark corridors began to be filled with light as the rays of the sun appeared and filtered through the curtains. Lantis inhaled, then exhaled heavily. "They do not think we ought to trust our allies. Even while Eagle's technological projects, Aska's continued goodwill, and Tata and Tatra's guardianship of the space borders, benefit us, the people are adamant on letting them go."

_The people of Cephiro have free will... Cephiro is a magical place where a single thought can make or unmake great things... unbound thoughts and actions and emotions... a second Debonair..._

"And if we don't let our allies go?"

"It is the end of Cephiro."

"All the more that we must go on this mission to find the true Pillar---"

"No!" Lantis snapped. Fuu turned her head up to look at him suspiciously.

"What are you so afraid of, Lantis? Hikaru is no longer the Pillar of Cephiro. There is no need to worry about her."

Lantis was spared an answer when Caldina came. "Fuu, breakfast is ready before you leave." Realizing who it was Fuu was talking to, Caldina asked, "What are you doing here Lantis?"

"Lantis! There you are!" Fuu and Caldina's heads turned to look from behind Lantis. Primera, the fairy, came into view as she perched herself on Lantis' left shoulder. She pinched Lantis' cheek with her tiny hand.

"Where have you been?" she asked, crossing her arms on her chest. "I've been looking for you all night!"

Lantis inclined his head towards Fuu and Caldina. Then, he turned away from them as Primera talked and talked to his ear.

"I swear, Lantis is probably the most patient man I know in Cephiro to even endure a minute with that imp!" Caldina muttered. To Fuu, she said out loud, "Come on, Fuu! Time to eat!"

Fuu nodded and followed after Caldina, trying to forget about Ferio and thinking of what Lantis has told her about Cephiro. She looked out the windows as they passed and saw that the sun was fully risen.

_How long had she been crying?_

----

Umi was neatly slicing her eggs into quarters. Fuu, amusedly, watched Hikaru delve into her heaping breakfast plate as if she had not eaten for weeks. When Hikaru was finished eating, she rubbed her bloated stomach, satisfied.

"Wow!" she breathed. "That was the most delicious breakfast I've ever tasted!"

"Everything you eat tastes delicious, Hikaru," Umi murmured. She finished her eggs daintily and arranged the spoon and fork side by side on the plate. Umi finished her juice and dabbed at the sides of her mouth with a table napkin. Hikaru ogled at her.

"What?" Umi asked. "Just because we're in another planet doesn't mean we have to forget our table manners."

Hikaru pouted as she viewed the mess on her plate. Her eating utensils were askew and bits and pieces of egg, ham, and bread were scattered all over the table. Fuu smiled kindly and pointed to her lip. Hikaru touched the same area on her lip and felt something sticky. Hikaru wiped it immediately with her soiled table napkin.

"Hahaha," she laughed nervously. "I think I liked those eggs a bit too much."

"So Fuu," Umi started. She fixed her stare at Fuu. "You didn't go back to bed, did you?"

There was no point in lying, Fuu thought. "No, I didn't. I had to do something."

"Really? Like what?" Umi sounded interested. She was leaning forward the table. Hikaru did the same. "What did you and Ferio do?"

"M-Me? H-Him?" Fuu looked from one face to the other and gasped. Her cheeks turned scarlet. "Oh dear! Nothing happened! You guys! How could you even think like that? He's married with a kid, for crying out loud!"

Hikaru and Umi backed away, their hands up. "Gee, Fuu!" Umi exclaimed. "We weren't even thinking like that---Okay, maybe we were. But hey! Keep your hair on! It's not like we're egging you two on. Right, Hikaru?" Umi glared at Hikaru.

"Hehehe, right, Umi."

Fuu finished her own breakfast and stood up while Umi and Hikaru followed. "I think we better go and see Master Clef."

The three went on to Master Clef, who was standing at the highest balcony in the castle. The view of Cephiro was beautiful there.

"If I may say so, Cephiro has never looked more beautiful," said Hikaru.

"Do not be deceived by appearances," Clef said, turning away and walking back into the castle. The Magic Knights walked after him. When he turned again to face them, he said, "I am sending you out with naught but three things. First, never get waylaid by your emotions. It is important that out there, where most of the people do not know you, an alert mind is kept open. As I've said before, appearances can be deceiving. Do not reveal yourself to them as the Magic Knights. Second, never ever use your weapons unless it is deemed necessary. When the situation is not life threatening, taking the life of your assailant can never be justified by the laws of Cephiro. Third, when you have found the true Pillar, protect the Pillar with all your might.

"My power is weakening as years pass. I fear I cannot wait for the next Pillar to come if the one you find will perish."

"Master Clef," Fuu spoke. "I've heard of the political turmoil Cephiro is facing. Is this what's troubling Cephiro again?"

Umi and Hikaru, who knew nothing of this, stood by and threw questioning looks at Fuu and Clef. Clef bowed his head.

"I am no substitute for the Pillar of Cephiro and in the years that Cephiro had no Pillar, the people started to think that having one was some form of prison. I had to make do with diplomacy and alliances to ensure the protection and development of the land. Cephiro's citizens have begun to think that we are powerful enough to exist without any aid."

"Cephiro has become proud," Hikaru whispered. Clef heard her and nodded.

"There are some who remain open to the idea of having a Pillar who protects them and cares for them. However, there are those who will oppose you under the pretense that the Pillar System is inhuman when in truth, it is because the Pillar is all seeing and all knowing. Whatever their plans are will be made known to the Pillar of Cephiro."

"Well, if the Pillar is all seeing and all knowing, people would not want that person to violate their privacy," said Hikaru. Clef shook his head.

"Power in thought comes to the Pillar only when the existence of Cephiro becomes endangered. Evildoers are found out and their plans are prevented from execution. Sadly, they do not want a single entity to rule Cephiro."

"In short," added Umi. "They have lost faith. They have lost faith in the Pillar."

"The Pillar of Cephiro is the last bulwark of justice. Only the Pillar can bring true and lasting order to Cephiro. Those who has other plans have now become a threat to our existence." Clef looked at each of the women. "Please, Magic Knights. Do what you must and can."

The Magic Knights knelt before Clef, their right hands upon their hearts. "Yes, we will, Master Clef."

When the three have left Clef's presence, they went out into the courtyard where Caldina and Lafarga were waiting. Sierra came as well, Mokona in her arms.

"About the favor I wish to ask of you," Sierra said to them. "This is it."

"What is it?" Hikaru asked. Mokona jumped out of Sierra's arms and landed in Hikaru's.

"Bring along Mokona with you, just so we'd have peace of mind here. He will keep you safe."

"And fed!" Hikaru said excitedly, bouncing Mokona up and down. Umi groaned.

"I knew this would happen! What about our peace of mind!"

Hikaru bounced Mokona some more when she caught sight of someone further off. She forgot about Mokona and let him fall to the ground.

"Puu puu _puuuuuu_!" Mokona squealed. Hikaru gasped and picked him up, rubbing his bottom.

"Gee, I'm so sorry, Mokona!"

"Puu puu puuu!" Hikaru handed Mokona over to Fuu.

"Wait, guys. I have to talk to someone." She dumped Mokona into Fuu's arms.

"Hikaru! Wait! Where---"

Hikaru ran away from the group to the back of the castle where he saw a large black stallion tied to a tree. She looked around her but there was no one else. When she turned to head back to the courtyard, she collided with someone.

"Lantis!"

To her surprise, Lantis placed his hands on her shoulders. He looked into her eyes and finally spoke to her. "When you find the true Pillar of Cephiro, go back to your world and never come back."

"I don't understand---"

"I can no longer protect you, Hikaru, from whatever fate has laid out for you in Cephiro. You've always followed your own heart. I cannot dictate to you what to do. The only thing I can do is beg you to stop going back to Cephiro, whatever the Rune Gods may tell you."

Lantis? Begging her?

Hikaru wanted to touch his face but restrained herself. Lantis removed his hands from her shoulders. "Lantis, am I making you suffer by being here? Does it pain you to see me back?"

"No."

Hikaru was about to say something but Umi's shout carried over to where Hikaru and Lantis were standing. Even his stallion reared.

"Hikaru! Hey! We have to leave now!"

Lantis stepped aside and gave her way to pass by as Hikaru walked towards the courtyard. She stopped momentarily to look at him and then went on her way.

-----

Clef watched from the balcony. He watched the Magic Knights walk out of the castle, Mokona jumping behind them.

"I feel as if I want to call them back," he said.

"Then call them back."

"I saw a vision, Sierra, and it haunts me now."

Sierra looked at Clef worriedly. "What vision, Master Clef?"

"The Magic Knights lying each in pools of blood. Those pools come together to form streams and rivers, emptying themselves into the wide seas of Cephiro. Then, rain was of blood and the fields prospered. Flowers grew beautiful and the birds were singing---"

"It is a most strange vision, Master Clef," remarked Sierra. "Life after death, it seems to tell us."

"Yes. But I don't want it to be their deaths for that life, Sierra."

Even Sierra had no answer to the question of Cephiro's salvation. "We are not completely powerless, Master Clef. We must continue our talks with the people of Cephiro. While they are in search of the true Pillar, we must do our part."

Clef agreed. "True, Sierra. So it is. Come, let us go. Get Caldina and Ascot."

"Yes, Master Clef."


	6. The First Rescue

_For those who want more action and adventure (or basically girls kicking butt), here is the first of those chapters. Enjoy!_

CHAPTER SIX: The First Rescue

Fuu, Hikaru, Umi, and Mokona had reached the outskirts of the borders of the castle grounds. Raising her hand to shield her eyes from the sun, Fuu opened the small piece of paper Lafarga handed to her earlier in the courtyard. It contained a long list of towns and villages to be found in the whole of Cephiro.

"Clef doesn't really expect us to scour the whole continent, does he?" asked Hikaru.

Umi said haughtily, "Of course he does! The only way by which we could recognize the true Pillar is through Escudo! And you're carrying it with you."

"Oh, yeah. Forgot."

"The first town, Vena, is still ten miles from here," said Fuu. "All we have to do is follow the trade road and we'll be there in another three to four hours."

"Three to four hours?!" Umi exclaimed. "And we're just walking! This is unbelievable! The least those people at the castle could have done to was give us horses!"

Hikaru giggled. "Aw, don't be angry, Umi! Look! Mokona's here to help us, right?"

Mokona perked up his ears. "Puu puu puuu!"

"And how exactly is that alien pet going to help us?"

Hikaru then commanded Mokona. "Mokona! Transportation, please!"

"Puu puu puuu!" _Poof! Poof! Poof!_

Umi became very glad when she saw what Mokona had produced. In front of them were three horses, saddled and with bags of food and other provisions at their sides. Hikaru quickly got on top of one and held the reins as Mokona jumped on to sit in front of her.

"This is amazing!" Umi exclaimed. "Mokona, you're starting to grow on me!"

"Puu puu puuu!" Mokona intoned happily.

The road was quite long and to save their strength, not one of them spoke and all that could be heard was the gentle swaying of the trees in the breeze. Mokona was lulled to sleep by the rocking motion of the saddle and Hikaru held him to her like a most loved pet. When Hikaru got hungry, they rested for a few minutes to eat some of the food packed beside their saddles. Then, they went riding again.

Their pace was slow. No one saw the point of riding too hard. Umi brushed away some flies that had started to buzz in front of her face.

"Ah! I think we're near the town now," said Fuu, squinting. Hikaru clapped her hands, waking Mokona up.

"Great! Just in time for lunch!"

"Aw, come on, Hikaru!" Umi snapped, still trying to wave the flies away. "We've just had our late morning snack! What the h—l!"

Umi fell off her horse from trying to get rid of the flies. Fuu and Hikaru halted. They found themselves staring up at a barrier of trees. Fuu glanced behind her then back in front.

"I guess the castle's situated on an elevated point that's why all I saw was the town," she said. "A patch of forest still separates the towns from the castle." Hikaru got down from her horse to help Umi up. Now, along with Umi, Hikaru and Mokona were warding off the flies, which had by now multiplied in number.

"Where are all these flies coming from?!" Umi shrieked as she swatted a clump of mating flies away from her nose.

Fuu slid off her saddle and walked closer to the forest. She sniffed the air and a heavy, rotting smell entered her nostrils. Fuu coughed and backed away.

"It's coming from inside the patch of forest," she said, raising her hand to cover her nose. Hikaru and Mokona also smelled the air. Mokona let out a disgusted sound. Hikaru pinched her nose.

"Is there no other way around?" asked Umi. Several dead flies were lying at her feet.

Fuu shook her head. "We could go back and around the forest but that will take us days. We aren't really in a hurry but if we want to resolve Cephiro's problem quickly, through the forest is the only way."

Umi sighed disappointedly. "Oh, well! Hikaru! Get your horse so we could pass into the forest."

With Fuu and her horse at the lead, Hikaru and Umi pulled their horses' reins and followed her. As they went deeper and deeper into dim forest, the stench got heavier and heavier and the flies became more numerous. It was too much to endure. The four companions had their hands full swatting at flies, holding on to their horses, and covering their noses.

"Whatever's producing that smell could only be two things," Hikaru's muffled voice said. "Garbage or rotting carcass!"

"This is disgusting!" Umi exclaimed, swinging her head from side to side, keeping the flies from entering her ears. "I don't care if it takes us weeks to get to Vena! Let's go around, Fuu!"

But as the three turned to go back, a high-pitched scream came from the deep of the forest. They stopped in their tracks.

"What was that?" asked Umi.

Hikaru frowned. "Someone's in danger!" They listened for a few more seconds and another scream filled the forest.

"A child!" Fuu gasped. Without delay, Hikaru dragged her horse towards where the screams were coming from.

"Hikaru!" Umi and Fuu shouted. Left with no choice, they followed after Hikaru. They did not have to run far because they quickly saw Hikaru's horse. Alone.

"Where's Hikaru?" Fuu asked.

"Hikaru!" Umi yelled. "Hikaru! Where are you? Hikaru!"

Another scream. This time it was not a child's scream.

"Hikaru!"

Leaving their horses, Fuu and Umi ran towards Hikaru's scream. They found her bending on the forest floor like a frightened child. "Hikaru! What's the matter?" Fuu asked as she and Umi rushed to their friend. But Hikaru, they found out, was not alone. She was not cowering in fear. She was hunched over the body of a little boy.

"Oh my goodness!" Umi gasped. Fuu knelt beside Hikaru and felt for the boy's pulse.

"Still alive," she said. But when Fuu moved the boy's body, horror filled her heart as deep, long gashes running from the boy's chest to his lower back exposed themselves to her. Umi felt as if she was going to be sick.

"W-What could d-do this to a c-child?" stammered Umi. Hikaru looked up and focused her eyes at the black tunnel of trees.

"We'd better get this boy into town," said Fuu, taking the boy out of Hikaru's arms. But Hikaru once again ran away from them into the black tunnel.

"Hikaru! Where are you going!"

"There's another child in there!" she shouted back. Fuu stayed with the boy while Umi ran after Hikaru.

Hikaru and Umi stopped when they were inside the black tunnel of trees. They knew it was near noon but no sunlight permeated the thick canopy of trees in that forest. There was almost zero visibility.

"Look!" Umi said, pointing forward. There was a small clearing inside the forest, where a tiny line of light passed through. When Hikaru and Umi reached the edge of the clearing, they saw a tiny infant, its wrap had already been torn to shreds and a gash ran along the side of the face.

Hikaru stepped forward to get the infant but as she did so, Umi screamed, and Hikaru was thrown against a tree trunk. The infant started to cry as a large shadow fell over Hikaru. She winced in pain and looked up into the scarlet eyes of a beast... or shadow... or monster...

The monster reared its head and roared. Hikaru felt as if her eardrums have exploded. Sticky mucilage dripped from the monster's mouth onto her as she vainly tried to back away. Umi was silent. Hikaru closed her eyes and tried not to breath quickly. The monster sniffed at her, then moved away.

However, not all was well. The monster did not go away. It went for the infant.

"Nooooooooo!"

Hikaru saw a flash of blue light. Umi had called on the power of water, and a thin, glinting saber appeared in her hands. The monster was distracted and Umi charged with all her might against it. She sliced at the monster's hide and it howled in pain. But the monster was huge and with its giant foreleg, it hit Umi and sent her down to the ground.

"Umi!"

Umi's head had hit the forest floor. She was unconscious.

Hikaru, who ran to snatch the baby to safety, was caught in the act by the monster. Hikaru could barely see it in the dark and with the wailing baby in her arms she could only back away towards Umi.

"Hikaru! Get down!" she suddenly heard Fuu's voice from somewhere behind her. Hikaru ducked and from the corner of her eye, she saw Fuu, a glowing bow in her hands. A silver arrow appeared and Fuu released the string, sending the arrow straight at the monster. The monster roared but was not destroyed. It charged towards the three women and Hikaru knew there was neither more time for Fuu to shoot another arrow nor enough time for them to run away.

_Flame of Lexxus, release!_

Hikaru screamed as the red orb on her gauntlet burst into flame. The flame leapt into her open palm. As if it had taken a life of its own, her hand threw the flame at the charging monster and it burned the monster. Knowing it had been defeated, the monster howled one last time and ran away into the dark.

"Quick! Let's get out of here!" Fuu yelled at Hikaru. She helped Umi up, who was only coming to. Hikaru held the baby and ran to where the horses were. Mokona jumped up and down, glad to see they were still alive. A cart was beside him and in it, Hikaru saw the dead bodies of two men and a woman. She realized that the rotting smell and the flies came from those bodies.

Earlier, Fuu had ordered Mokona to protect the boy when she left to see what was happening to her friends. Mokona produced a force field to act as a shield in case anything attacked them. Umi's saber, Fuu's bow, and the flame from Hikaru's hand had disappeared. Umi insisted she could still ride her horse, not knowing that her forehead was bleeding. Hikaru, still in a slight daze, went on the saddle. Fuu had the boy seated in front of her while Mokona had to ride with Umi.

"Come on!" Fuu shouted. "Hiyah!"

The horses reared and the Magic Knights rode as fast as they could away from the dark forest. Within minutes, they saw light ahead of them. But inches from the end of the forest, something blocked their way. The horses reared more powerfully this time, almost sending their riders to the ground.

"Ride on!" Umi shouted. She rounded to her left, while Fuu and Hikaru rounded to their right. They were finally out of the forest and back into the light of the sun. She could now make out the gates of the town of Vena. Fuu sighed with relief. _At last..._

"Aaaaah!" Fuu heard a slicing sound, and that of cloth being torn to shreds.

When Fuu turned her head to look, blood splashed across her eyes, obliterating her vision.

"Don't turn back, Fuu!" It was Hikaru. Fuu, against her will, rode forward. She could feel the gate was near.

Come on... come on... Just a little more... Please....

The gates opened as two armored men rode out on black stallions, armed with curved swords and shields. Fuu rode on, her eyes only able to make out hazy, red images. Then, someone took hold of the reins and stopped her from riding any further. She felt someone take the boy from her. Fuu slid down the saddle and wiped her eyes.

Hikaru and Umi were still alive except for the fact that the monster had slashed Hikaru's shoulder. Fuu was generally relieved. They got down from their horses as several people crowded at the gate, watching the two armored men battle with the monster.

"Are you all right with that?" Fuu asked, cringing at the sight of Hikaru's bleeding shoulder. The blood that went into Fuu's eyes (despite her eyeglasses) must have come from the swinging force of the monster's claws.

Hikaru gave her a brave smile. "I am. I used it to shield the baby that's why it got slashed. Hey! Better me than the baby, right?"

Fuu embraced Hikaru. "Right, Hikaru." She then asked Umi the same question and Umi said there was nothing to worry about except for her disheveled hair.

The three women looked beyond the gate and also watched while the men slashed at the monster until it was weak. It died and one of them cut off its head. The monster's body seemed to go up in smoke and afterwards, it exploded, leaving no trace but bits and pieces of its spiky hide.

Hikaru, Fuu, and Umi smiled thankfully at each other and turned around to find the points of scimitars and spears, even butcher's knives, aimed at their necks.

"Puuuuuuuu---" Mokona whimpered. He ran to hide behind Umi's legs and stayed there.

"Who are you and what do you want?" a tall, mustached man asked them suspiciously. The gate opened slightly and the two men who killed the monster went back in.

Now, there was no escape, no other way but to deal with these people diplomatically and search for the true Pillar in Vena. The Magic Knights doubted if the Pillar would even come from a town like Vena.

_This is it, _Fuu thought.

_Looks like a boring town,_ Umi thought unhappily. _Do they even have water here to wash my hair?_

_There's something strange about these people, _Hikaru thought. She grinned nervously at the crowd.

The two armored men, bathed in blood and mucus, advanced towards them and their cold, menacing eyes were fixed upon the Magic Knights. They raised their bloodied weapons and swung them through the air.

The people bolted the gate shut.

-----

Message from the Author: _By the way, I'd like to know how long you want the story to be. I mean, I can write until the end of the world but a lot of people like to read stories that are short and quick-paced. So, please do inform me how fan fiction readers would like the length to be. Thank you!_


	7. A Game of Tag

CHAPTER SEVEN: A Game of Tag

"W-We're, uh, I---" Hikaru tried to say they were from the castle but Clef had instructed them to not say anything about where they came from.

"We're from the town of Coda," Fuu answered, recalling one of the far northern towns of Cephiro. The mustached man and several of the people looked the women up and down. When the baby began to cry, the people put down their weapons. One woman looked at the baby and gasped, "A baby!"

A man shouted from behind the crowd, "It's Yuner and his family!" The people turned around and headed for the cart. Many of them began to wail and weep for the bodies they saw there were terribly mutilated and destroyed.

The mustached man dug his spear a little deeper into Hikaru's neck. Hikaru winced but did not buckle down.

One of the armored men, the one with the dark purple hair, swung his scimitar and threw it down to the ground. The blade buried itself up to the hilt.

"Put the spear down, Sergei."

The mustached man glared at the Magic Knights and did not put his spear down nor did any of the other armed townspeople.

"I said put the spear down!" The force in the voice of the purple-haired warrior startled the people and they put down their weapons to their sides. The purple-haired man and another man, a dark blue-haired one, stepped forward. The mustached man backed away from Hikaru and her friends. The purple-haired man approached Hikaru and bent down to peer at the crying infant. He held out his arms and Hikaru gave the baby to him. She and her friends exchanged glances.

"This is Yuner's youngest son, all right," he said in a baritone voice. To the Magic Knights' surprise, he winked at them.

"You have saved the children of our friends. We thank you," he told them gently. When he saw Hikaru's bleeding shoulder and the wound on Umi's forehead, he ordered, "Get our guests some fresh, clean clothes and medicine to heal their injury. After that, we prepare a feast for them."

"A feast?!" the mustached man sputtered, coming forward. "Yuner, his wife Eila and brother Amon are now dead! We cannot have a feast!"

"Er, I think Mister Mustache here is right," Hikaru said but the purple-haired man merely brushed the disagreeable man aside.

"Nonsense. We have already spotted you and your companions coming out of the wood before being followed by the monster out into the light. We would still have held a sumptuous feast for you, visitors from Coda. For now, you must have your wounds cleaned." He then handed the baby over to one of the women.

"N-No, really, were f-fine," Fuu argued but several women have taken the task of making life comfortable for the Magic Knights. They bathed them, dressed them (their breastplates were sent to the cleaners, too), and bandaged their wounds. Fuu tried to explain to them that she had her own medicine but the townspeople did not understand what she was saying about "iodine", "alginate bandages", and "antisepsis".

When they were cleaned up, the three women were led to a giant hut in the center of the small town. Many people were already there. Hikaru, Umi, and Fuu were taken to the back where three high platforms stood.

"What are those?" asked Hikaru, gazing up. One man, bearing a torch, climbed up on each platform and lit the bundles on top.

"Cremation platforms," Umi muttered. The people around them bowed their heads and whispered some form of prayer. The three could not understand the words and so bowed their heads and each whispered her own prayer for the dead. When they were finished, the purple-haired man announced, "Now, let us prepare for the night feast for our guests and the return of Yuner's sons!"

None of the three expected any cheering. Faces were of a solemn mood and the cremation of their friends stood in their minds. Umi started to feel a little guilty for enjoying the way she was pampered a few hours before the cremation. Hikaru, on the other hand, felt remorseful for thinking about food and looking forward to the feast. After all, she and her friends had missed lunch. Not that they would have enjoyed it very much after seeing those corpses and the bloodbath between the two warriors and the monster...

The women who took care of Hikaru, Umi, and Fuu left them to participate in the preparations for the feast. The three looked all about them and realized that they have been left to their own devices.

"What was that sound?" asked Umi. "Did you hear that? It sounds like a monster's coming."

Fuu listened and when she realized what it was they were hearing, she laughed. "Umi, it's just Hikaru's stomach." Hikaru clutched at her midsection and grimaced. Umi shook her head pityingly at Hikaru.

"I'm so hungry, I think I'm going to faint," she said. "Mokona... Oh! Where _is _Mokona?"

"Who cares?" Umi said, uninterested. "That creature can take care of himself---"

"There he is!" Hikaru pointed to a young boy---the same one they have rescued from the monster---who was playing with Mokona. Mokona seemed very happy, doing all sorts of tricks and making the boy laugh and maybe forget the harrowing experience of his family's murder. The Magic Knights stayed with the boy and Mokona for a while.

"Hello," Hikaru said gently, so as not to startle the boy. The boy did not turn to look at her. She looked at Fuu and repeated her greeting. Again, the boy did not answer. Umi shrugged. Fuu bent down and snapped her fingers close to the boy's ear. She also clapped her hands. When the boy remained oblivious to their presence, Fuu said sadly, "Deaf. Probably mute, too."

Hikaru instantly felt sorry for the boy. No sense of hearing, no voice, no parents. What could be worse than that happening to a child? She placed a hand on the boy's shoulder and only then did he look up at them. He grinned and pointed at Mokona.

"I think Mokona's too full of himself to realize that he's not adorably funny but stupidly funny," Umi remarked. Mokona stuck out a tiny pink tongue at Umi and continued with his acrobatics. Umi "hmph"-ed and walked away.

"Where's Umi going?" asked Hikaru. Fuu replied, "To find something worthy of her time like fashion."

Soon, even Fuu got tired of watching Mokona display his tricks over and over again. She told Hikaru, "I'll be walking around to see any likely candidates for you-know-what."

"What's that?"

Fuu cleared her throat. "You know---"

Hikaru giggled, remembering. "Ah, that I know."

"You should keep your eyes open, Hikaru. You were the former you-know-what and only you can know who's the next you-know-what."

Hikaru nodded. "Okay, Fuu! I promise I'll do that. But I guess it won't hurt to mingle with these people first, eh?"

Fuu guessed it was okay and afterwards left Hikaru with the boy and Mokona. A few minutes later, having exhausted all his tricks, Mokona decided to play tag with the boy. Mokona tapped the boy and ran. The boy, quick and smart, tagged Hikaru and ran. Hikaru laughed and ran after the boy. The boy hid behind a large barrel and she pretended not to see his head sticking out from the top. Hikaru did spot Mokona, though, and easily tagged him by pulling at his ear. Mokona tagged the boy behind the barrel. Hikaru purposely exposed her foot under one of the large vegetable stands and the boy tagged her toes.

The three of them ran and ran all about the center of the town, with Hikaru careful not to chase or let the boy and Mokona chase her out of the center's boundary. Hikaru tagged the boy for the hundredth time and watched as he ran after Mokona. But Mokona was too fast and the boy could not tag him. Instead, he tagged the nearest person to him.

Hikaru could not see who it was the boy tagged, only a large mark on the arm of the person, but she ran, anyway. The squeal she heard told Hikaru that Mokona has been tagged. Hikaru ducked behind a group of elderly women and passed by Umi who was talking with two young women. The boy tagged Hikaru, then she tagged Mokona, and the boy tagged her again.

She was running and running, laughing and laughing, enjoying herself and feeling like a child again. Hikaru tripped over a basket of vegetables but managed to catch herself on time.

"Whew! That was close!" Hikaru squatted on the ground and wiped the beads of sweat from her face. The grin on her face disappeared, replaced by wide-eyed disbelief, when she saw the person standing right in front of her.

"Eagle," her lips breathed.

Mokona had spotted the boy and he tagged him. The boy ran away from Mokona and saw Hikaru. He went for her but saw the man. Grinning, he tagged the man.

Hikaru's voice disappeared. The boy tugged at the man's cape. "_Nga_! _Nga_!" the boy tried to get the man's attention.

"W-We were playing t-tag," Hikaru managed to say. The man smiled at her kindly and offered his hand. Hikaru took it and he pulled her up to stand.

"Tag," he said softly. His lips were not smiling but Hikaru saw the mirth in his eyes.

Hikaru grinned. "Tag you back." He did not let go of her hand and she saw the long mark of the branch of a plant that traversed the length of the man's right arm.

"Game over."

The boy pouted, not glad to see the game end. Mokona jumped into his arms and let the boy hug him. Hikaru smiled down at the boy. Much to Hikaru's embarrassment, her stomach gurgled.

"You must be famished," the man who looked like Eagle said to her. Hikaru nervously chuckled. _Hehehe, thanks for stating the obvious_.

"Come." The man let go of her hand and Hikaru followed. The boy, preoccupied with Mokona, walked just a few paces behind her. The man weaved his way through the crowd of people, especially in the marketplace. Hikaru did not have a hard time following his lead because of his height. He could easily be spotted. She followed him out of the crowd and into an alleyway.

They stopped walking. There was a curtain front of them and the man pushed it aside to let Hikaru, the boy, and Mokona in. It was a small house with a low ceiling.

It was almost dark outside and the man went to light the house up with numerous lamps. Only then did Hikaru see the full interior. A round table stood at the corner, with three chairs. There was a small dugout in the center of the room where the remains of a fire had stood. Black kettles, cauldrons, knives, spatulas, spoons and forks hung on one wall. At the far back of the room were stacks of what looked like mats, pillows, and blankets.

The place was devoid of any decoration save for the lamps and a row of similar potted plants on the windowsill. After lighting the lamps, the man turned away for a while and kept himself busy with something at the round table.

The boy pulled Hikaru down to the laid-out mat on the floor. He put Mokona down to get some square pillows for Hikaru to lean her back on. Only then did she remember the wound on her shoulder. She raised her hand to touch the bandage.

"It does not hurt anymore, does it?" the man asked, offering her a wooden bowl. Hikaru took the bowl and drank from it. She immediately felt her hunger ebb.

"Thank you," she said, finishing the soup. "It's delicious." She also noticed that there was no need for a second helping for Hikaru was already full, a rare occurrence.

The man sat across her. Hikaru watched as he pulled out a pouch from his belt and extracted a leaf. He blew on the leaf and uttered unintelligible words. He threw the leaf into the dugout and it burst into flame. Hikaru saw the leaf turn into a small bonfire.

"Amazing!" Hikaru said. "How did you do that?"

"Fire-breather," he answered, offering her one leaf. Hikaru thought it looked just like an ordinary leaf. "It requires some spells to use that."

Hikaru thought of her own skill with fire and the flame-throwing incident at the forest.

"You must be skilled with fire yourself," he suddenly said. Hikaru was surprised. _How did he know_?

"I heard your voice in the forest," he told her calmly. "You called out to the Rune God, Lexxus."

Hikaru kept her mouth closed. No, she promised Master Clef she would not reveal anything about their origins to anyone outside the castle.

The man fixed his intense green eyes at her. Hikaru realized she must have mistaken him for Eagle Vision. This man could not be her old friend. This man was a stranger... and she's in his house!

"I don't know what you're talking about," Hikaru lied. The man continued to look at her.

"Perhaps you don't. I apologize for my impertinence."

Hikaru sighed, relieved. It would not do well for them to be found out this early. How he could have heard her made Hikaru wonder about the man. The boy took the empty bowl from Hikaru, with Mokona wrapped around his back like a papoose, and went to the back of the small house.

"He seems to know his way around here," said Hikaru, desperate to change the subject.

The man's lips smiled. "Yes, he does. He has spent more time here than his home."

"Really? You must like children very much." Hikaru smiled back at the man. "He's a sweet boy. I don't even know his name."

"His name is Don and he is my nephew."

Hikaru's eyes flew to the man. "Oh! I had no idea."

The man gazed into the fire at the dugout. "His mother, Eila, is my twin sister."

Hikaru remembered in detail the grisly corpse of the woman in the cart. "I'm sorry," she whispered.

"Hikaru! _Hikaru_! Where are you?!"

It was Umi. Hikaru stood up quickly. The man stood up as well.

"My friends are looking for me," she said dumbly. The man opened the curtain door for her and walked out back onto the street. The boy saw her leaving and his eyes started to water. Hikaru bent down and patted the child's head.

"You can keep Mokona here for a while," she said, motioning for Mokona to stay. Mokona was only too willing to say yes.

"Puu puu puuuu!"

Hikaru straightened up, thanked the man for the soup, and ran back into the market to search for Umi.

-----

Hikaru found Umi peering inside every vegetable and food stall in the marketplace.

"Umi!" Hikaru waved. Umi waved back and ran to her.

"Where do you keep going off to, Hikaru?" Umi asked exasperatedly. Hikaru gulped.

"Me? Er, nowhere, really. Just looking at stuff and for you-know-what."

Umi looked confused. "What do I know?"

"You know...."

Umi frowned and then she remembered their mission. "Oh, yeah. Right. Found it yet?"

Hikaru shook her head. "No, sorry."

Looking around her, Umi asked, "Have you seen Fuu?"

"No. Why?"

"Well, the women I've been talking to told me that the feast would be after dark. I can't seem to find Fuu anywhere."

"She must be looking for you-know-what," Hikaru suggested. Umi shrugged. "Anyway, we must be getting prepared now. We can't look like rags when we come to the feast, right?"

"No, but where will we get---"

"Come, Hikaru!" Umi was already dragging Hikaru towards a group of women about their age. "They're going to lend us some clothes!"

-----

The hour of the feast came. Dressed up and ready, Umi and Hikaru met up with Fuu (who had been asking questions discreetly about what the people of Vena thought of the alliances) at the large hut. There, they saw the purple-haired warrior, towering above the other citizens. Thee feast has not officially started yet.

Fuu whispered to Hikaru, "Hikaru, I've been hearing something about you going off with this strange man---"

"What?" Umi asked, overhearing. Hikaru's cheeks went beet red.

"I just accompanied the deaf boy---his name's Don, by the way---to his home and I was with Mokona. No big deal, right?"

Fuu andd Umi exchanged dark looks. "I don't know, Hikaru," said Fuu. "I saw the man and he does not look trustworthy."

Hikaru wanted to tell them that he heard her call out to Lexxus but she could not. Umi's new friends approached and talked to Umi. An elderly woman came to Fuu. Without anyone to talk to, Hikaru went outside. Almost everyone was at the hut. Only the guards stood outside and at the gates. In the light of the torches, Hikaru saw the man---Don's uncle---speaking with a guard at the gates. She then heard a guard walk out of the hut to stand nearby.

Hikaru walked over to him. The guard looked at her. "You the guest?"

"Er, yes."

"Hm, right." He ignored her for a few seconds. Hikaru saw Don's uncle inspect a scimitar in the light and to her astonishment, the guards opened the gate and let him out.

"He went out! In the dark!" Hikaru exclaimed. The guard behind her made a smacking sound with his lips.

"Of course he went out," he said. "He's supposed to."

Hikaru turned to look at the guard. "Why? Isn't he going to come to the feast?"

"Come to a feast after the death of the last members of his family save for two children he now has to care for? Besides, it's his shift. We do rotations here, you know. His brother-in-law, Yuner, was among our greatest warriors. It was his shift last night."

_Then what was his family doing out there with him?_

Hikaru voiced this out and the guard clucked his tongue. "Amon's shift had been a week ago. When he did not come back, Yuner went to look for him beyond his shift. He came back emptyhanded. But Eila had a friend who sent her a message from the castle and she had to go through the forest."

"And there they met the monster," Hikaru added. She wondered who that friend in the castle could be. How stupid was that, sending one's friend into the pit of danger just to have a visit! And with the children, too!

"Adolphus had wanted to come after his sister and her family but it is heavily forbidden for anyone to go out of the town if it is not his or her shift for patrolling."

_Adolphus. So that's his name._

The truth was, Hikaru did not feel like attending the feast either. Hikaru left the guard and was on her way back in when an idea struck her. Careful not to let anyone see her, most especially Fuu and Umi, Hikaru crept towards the town wall a few meters from the great hut. She glanced around her, looking for any signs of Fuu or Umi or anyone else.

She waited for one of the wall guards to walk away. Skillfully, Hikaru scaled the high wall up and bent low. The guard was looking at another direction. Hikaru looked over the wall and out at the forest beyond. She could see Adolphus walking under the pale light of Cephiro's moon.

"Okay. Here goes."

She jumped.

-----

Message from the Author: _Yeah, this chapter is among the boring ones. It's really dragging but I have to make it so 'cause some of the people introduced here are going to affect much of what happens to our protagonists as the story moves along. I'll try to make it up to you, though, by writing more exciting chapter next time. Thanks for the patience! By the way, I wish to state that a lot more characters (aside from the ones I mentioned at the Disclaimer portion) will be added._


	8. Poison

CHAPTER EIGHT: Poison

Fuu looked up behind Umi and Hikaru and saw an old woman walking towards her. The woman almost had no hair and the few wisps that remained were starch white. His skin, even from a distance, looked as if it were hanging off her bones. Not a single youthful feature was on the woman and Fuu surmised---as she had earlier that day when she first met her---that she was the oldest living person in the town of Vena.

Umi suddenly ran off to another direction with a group of women---way younger than the one approaching Fuu. Fuu heard Hikaru was about to say something when the old woman finally reached Fuu.

Old Woman Naidah whispered in a coarse voice, "Come with me and I will tell you the secret."

Fuu held on to Old Woman Naidah's bony arm as the elder led her across the room. Then, Fuu remembered Hikaru and she glanced back. Hikaru was gone.

"She is well-protected," Old Woman Naidah said as they continued walking out of the large hut and farther into the back of the town. Fuu felt strange. Old Woman Naidah could apparently read minds. They walked in silence until at last, with the lights and the sound of people talking far behind, Fuu and Old Woman Naidah reached the entrance of a small white brick house. It had a thatched roof and a thin wisp of black smoke was coming out of its apex.

Old Woman Naidah entered and Fuu followed. It looked almost the same as the house of the man named Adolphus yet the walls of the old woman's house was painted with strange symbols and pictures. There were no chairs save for one wooden seat and mats all over the floor. Fuu looked to the center of the hut and saw a black cauldron sitting on top of a fire. Fuu felt quite heady when the smell of whatever it was inside the cauldron reached her nostrils.

"Sit down," Old Woman Naidah seemed to command her and Fuu felt her body responding. She sat down on the floor. Old Woman Naidah took something out of her tattered brown robes and threw it into the cauldron. The cauldron hissed and sputtered for a while before calming down. Old Woman Naidah sat on the wooden chair facing Fuu.

"You are a healer," the old woman said to Fuu. Fuu nodded.

"How did you know?" Fuu did not recall healing anyone at all yet except for the little boy Don and his baby brother.

Old Woman Naidah smiled, showing broken, yellow teeth. _This woman badly needs a dentist, _she thought. Fuu suddenly remembered that Old Woman Naidah could read minds. _Er, sorry..._

The old woman did not answer Fuu's question. Instead, she took out a sharp pin-like object from her sleeve and threw it at Fuu. The pointed end struck Fuu's shoulder and she cried out in pain.

"Wha---" Fuu began to feel much more light-headed and her throat was drying up. _Poison---_

But Fuu was too surprised to feel any kind of anger or fear. The slow-moving old woman disappeared from the chair and in the blink of an eye, she was right beside Fuu. Old Woman Naidah plucked out the pin with one swift motion of her hand and pasted a thin, green rectangular piece of cloth on the wound. Fuu did not even get to see the wound bleed. Just as quickly, the old woman removed the cloth and the wound was healed.

"Huh? W-What did y-you do?" she asked. Fuu pinched her shoulder. No blood came out and it no longer felt painful.

"That was poison," Old Woman Naidah confessed, slowly returning back to her wooden chair. "A poison so potent it could have killed you if I had been a second too late."

"What do you really want to tell me?" Fuu asked. Before she met Old Woman Naidah, Fuu had been asking questions about the town's history. The people she talked to frowned when she mentioned the town's name of Vena. When Fuu asked why it was so, they said that they called the town Delphi and that Vena was probably from the "traitors" of the castle. And when she asked who was the town chief, the people answered only one name: Old Woman Naidah.

Fuu thought the town chief was the purple-haired man who battled with the forest monster. The people said he was only one of the town warriors but that he held no power over the town. Everything and nothing came from Old Woman Naidah. Fuu asked about her and the people's voices lowered down to reverent whispers as they told Fuu of Old Woman Naidah's great powers and skills.

If there was one negative thing to be said about Old Woman Naidah, it was that she associated herself with Adolphus. Adolphus kept to himself but he was the old woman's favorite. Many resented this but to antagonize Adolphus would mean trouble with the old woman. The people said not to trust Adolphus because against the laws of the town, he goes to the forest at night. He was so high in the favor of Old Woman Naidah that Adolphus always comes out of the forest alive and whole.

No one elaborated exactly what those powers and skills were because Old Woman Naidah appeared right in their midst. The crowd around Fuu dispersed, leaving her alone with the old woman. Fuu did not take a second to think and asked straightaway, "What are your powers and skills?"

Old Woman Naidah merely grinned up at her and said, "A secret."

Fuu blinked. She woke up from her reverie and saw again the black cauldron and the drawings on the inner walls of Old Woman Naidah's hut. On one wall was what looked like two men slaying monsters. Another picture was of scimitars. Fuu also saw people playing tag. And a pile of dead bodies.

"There is nothing more rewarding than to be able to extend another person's life," she told Fuu. Fuu had no idea why the old woman said so but she nodded anyway.

"Through a great effort and sacrifice on your part, many have been saved and will be saved," Old Woman Naidah continued. Fuu started to feel greatly uncomfortable. The old woman must probably know... There was no point in hiding when the old woman could practically see through Fuu's brain.

"The people of this town hate the castle and its policies," Fuu said. "Without strong alliances, Cephiro will go to ruin."

The old woman shook her head. "Without a strong Pillar, only then will Cephiro go to ruin."

Fuu was mildly surprised that the old woman was not averse to a new Pillar. "You do not disagree with that notion?"

"Notion? The Pillar of Cephiro is not a mere notion but the true and sole lifeblood of Cephiro!"

"Yes, I know, Old Woman Naidah. Yet becoming the Pillar entails a sacrifice much greater than death. It means losing one's freedom. Death is much sweeter."

"Ah! Freedom, yes," Old Woman Naidah whispered. She stood up from her seat and walked to the wall on Fuu's right where the scene of the game of tag was drawn. "Freedom is such a prized possession for the young. It matters not what happens around them. As long as they are free to run as the horses in the wild, the world is as it should be. Youth must be done away with quickly because an old and mature mind is what it takes to rule Cephiro." Old Woman Naidah fixed her eyes at Fuu.

"No one who lives in the universe would sacrifice their own freedom unless it be for the good of others," Fuu countered. "Does it not matter to you, Old Woman Naidah?"

"I am aged and have lived far longer than I should have lived," she said, walking back to her seat and sitting down. "All chance for valor and adventure has long been erased from my memory. It is a thing of my past. In my old age, only my will keeps me alive and keeps this town alive."

Fuu smiled slightly. "You must have wanted to become the Pillar in your youth." Fuu understood. In her world, many girls wished they were queens, or princesses, or big time Hollywood actresses.

Old Woman Naidah stared at her. Fuu asked, "And what would you do if you were the Pillar of Cephiro, Old Woman Naidah?"

"My will is not enough to make me the Pillar. If the people will it, then I shall become the Pillar but only upon the death of the last Pillar. That is how the system is made. However, I believe that the Pillar must offer more than protection. The Pillar must be able to heal. Emeraude, because of her youth, was laid astray by youthful fantasies and forfeited the power to heal for she refused it in the end."

Fuu stopped smiling. There was something wrong about how the old woman said that last statement. She stared at the old woman sharply. How did Old Woman Naidah morph from a kindly old lady to a hag?

"You make all the medicines in this town, don't you?" asked Fuu, slowly standing up. She could feel the hairs at her nape standing as well. Fuu thought the room was getting smaller.

"Yes. Only I have that knowledge." Fuu was starting to distrust the old woman but she had to shield her thoughts from her.

"Where do you get them?"

"From the forest."

"You go there yourself?"

"Yes, I do."

Fuu's heartbeat moved faster. "You must be very brave."

"I am older than all the people of this town. I know these lands very well. But most of the time I send someone else. Someone I can trust."

Fuu made the pretense of looking at the walls. "Did you draw these?" Fuu stood close to the wall nearest the doorway. When Fuu moved her face closer, she thought the drawing looked like as if they were drawn with blood.

"Yes. It's the history of the town," Old Woman Naidah answered. Fuu could feel the old woman's eyes at her. "History is a mere stepping stone to the future. I prefer to keep it close."

"Why is it forbidden to go to the forest at night?"

"The forest is no longer in the reach of my power," replied Old Woman Naidah, unaware that Fuu was asking these questions for a reason. "Beyond this town, all injury and disease exist."

Nodding, Fuu asked, "I've heard about a great warrior named Adolphus and one of my companions has met him."

Old Woman Naidah massaged the bridge of her crooked nose and snapped, "I wish it could be much quieter here! That farce of a feast is making my head ache!"

Fuu listened. She could hear nothing but her breathing and the fire crackling under the cauldron.

"If I were younger, I would have been like Adolphus, that's why I have chosen him. His will is as mine. We are one."

At that moment, a young woman came, bearing a small clay pot in her hands. She entered the house and handed the clay pot to Old Woman Naidah.

"Here is the medicine for pain, Old Woman Naidah," the young woman said. "I am sorry I was not able to return it to you much earlier. My son's tooth is aching until today but I thought you might want it back now."

Old Woman Naidah nodded, laid a hand on the woman's head, and let her out of the house. After watching the woman leave, a thought, which she kept hidden from Old Woman Naidah, entered Fuu's mind and it filled her with a dark sense of dread.

"I think maybe I should go," Fuu said, slowly ambling towards the doorway. "My companions must be looking for me."

"Oh, I doubt it."

Fuu bowed her head and made for the doorway. But she turned back and asked, "What was the secret you wished to tell me?"

The old woman only smiled and said nothing. Fuu went on out of the house, only to hear Old Woman Naidah say, "Don't go out yet, Magic Knight."

Fuu walked faster and faster until she was almost running. While she ran, Fuu recalled every bit of detail from the encounter with Old Woman Naidah.

The oldest.

The town chief.

The sole town healer.

The strange drawings. _History... _Fuu's heart was seized with fear. _The drawings are of the present soon to become history!_

The two men slaying monsters... _The purple-haired warrior and his companion._

The scimitars... _The people of the town._

The game of tag.... _Hikaru, Don, Mokona, and Adolphus._

The pile of dead bodies... _Yuner and his family--- wait! _Fuu tried to recall what else was about that image that greatly disturbed her. The realization that hit Fuu as she ran down the road almost brought her to her knees. There were three bodies in that image, yes... A woman and... two other women...

"Heaven help us!" Fuu said to herself. More thoughts came into her head.

Goes to the forest by herself but so does Adolphus who is close to her and most like her as she referred to her and he as ONE... He goes back unscathed by the forest monsters... Wants one Pillar and no foreign alliances... Do away with youthful fantasies of freedom...

"No!" Fuu cried out loud as someone grabbed her arm. Fuu tried to fight back but saw that it was only Umi, who was looking at her as if she were going mad.

"Fuu! It's me, Umi!"

Fuu sighed with relief. "Oh! I-I thought y-you were---"

"I was what? And why are you running as if the hounds of hell are after you?"

"The old woman... she...."

Umi snorted. "Oh. That. Yeah, I've heard talk about that old woman Nida, Nita, or whatever. I think she's thought of here as a god or something. Anyway, what's weird is that I was talking to some girls when all voices stopped talking. It was as if they lost their voices. I mean, their mouths were moving but no sound was coming out! The sound only came back a few seconds after and none of the people even noticed it. What could be weirder than that?"

Fuu came to a final realization. "Hikaru!"

Umi snickered. "Yeah, her, too!"

"No! No! No!" Fuu snapped, pulling Umi to a group of trees. There she explained to Umi what was going on in the town.

Umi did not believe her. "Aw, c'mon, Fuu! You're getting too paranoid!"

Fuu shook her head. "I'm sure of it, Umi! Now, where's my map?"

"Huh? You need that right now? We can't leave at night with those monsters on the prowl!"

"Yes, I need the map now! Frankly, I don't even know if I should be more afraid of the monsters than her!" Fuu shouted. Umi held up her hands. "All right, all right! Fuu, let's not be too hasty. I mean, you've only just been with one crazy old woman for a night and you think she's the devil incarnate! Our stuff was delivered to the house of one of the girls. Now, calm down a little and we'll get your precious map!"

Umi and Fuu ran back to the house she was talking about. Fuu found her saddlebag and rummaged through it. She found the map and looked at it.

"How could I have been so stupid?!" she exclaimed. Umi, who was not very much into map reading asked, "Fuu, what's wrong?"

"The town of Vena is five hundred miles from the border of the castle lands!"

"So?" asked Umi, confused.

"This town is merely fifty miles from the border! There was supposed to be no patch of forest here and definitely no monsters whatsoever or they would not have sent us going this route!"

Umi frowned. "So you're telling me that we have been lured to this town that does not exist? This is not Vena?"

"Where's Hikaru?" asked Fuu, not answering Umi immediately. "No, this is not Vena. Did you see her at the hut?"

Umi was starting to get worried. "No, I didn't. But I think she went out some time ago."

"Who was she with?"

Umi shrugged. "I don't know. Let's ask the guards."

On they went to the guards and began asking them where and when they last saw the red-haired guest. One of them said, "She went out."

"What do you mean by that?" Umi asked.

The guard smacked his lips. "Out. As in "out of the town gates". She went with Adolphus."

"Wait, Fuu!" Umi shouted when Fuu dashed away from the hut towards the gates. Umi ran after her. The guards at the gate did not recognize them and opened the gates to let them out. But Fuu halted a step from the outside of the gates. Umi was not able to stop herself in time and went beyond the gates.

"Umi, go back! Go back!" Fuu screamed. Umi wondered why Fuu was making her turn back when she initiated the mad run. But as Umi made a turn, she felt something warm flowing down her face. Umi touched it and looked at it. Blood.

"Come back here! Umi!"

Umi quickly ran back inside the gates. "I don't understand---" The guards closed the gates again.

"The old woman controls everything in this place, Umi! When she said she wanted it quiet, the people at the hut lost their voices and when she had a headache, a woman came by to return a pot of medicine!" Fuu said. "If you go beyond the gates, all your wounds and injuries will go back!"

"Oh, dear! Hikaru!" Umi shrieked. "Fuu, you have to get to her! If that Adolphus person is who you say he is, Hikaru is in danger!"

"I can't," Fuu mumbled. Umi shook her hard. "Why not? Why not?!"

"I was poisoned."

"You were what? Fuu---"

Fuu looked up at Umi's face. Her own eyes were brimming with tears of frustration and regret. "She poisoned me. If I go beyond those gates, I will die in a second. You were luckier."

"Why is she doing this to us?" Umi asked angrily, unable to comprehend what was happening to them in this quaint little town. Umi was already expecting the people inside the hut to come out, acting like zombies, just like in the movies.

"She knows we have come from the castle to search for the true Pillar," replied Fuu, standing up. She helped Umi up and saw that the wound on her head was gone again.

"So?"

"She will do everything it takes to make herself Pillar."

Umi almost felt like laughing. "Her? Why would an old woman still want that? Isn't she supposed to be tired of living?"

An old and mature mind is what it takes to rule Cephiro....

"She will dispose of anyone who stands in her way, I'm sure of it," said Fuu strongly.

"Then, Hikaru really is in danger!" Umi exclaimed. "I mean, she used to be the Pillar and if this old hag is really crazy then---"

"No, I don't think she's after Hikaru because she's with the old woman's alter ego, someone who can protect her temporarily from the monsters and could slow down the return of Hikaru's injuries. She is still expendable, however because the old woman is---" Umi was not able to hear the last few words that came from Fuu's lips. Fuu was almost muttering to herself, staring at the town and the road.

"Then, who is she after?"

Fuu thought the town was suddenly too quiet. When she focused her eyes on the road, she saw the figure of Old Woman Naidah getting larger and larger. She was now leaning on a gnarled brown staff and heading towards Fuu and Umi, a knowing smile upon her equally gnarled face.

_The Pillar must be able to heal..._

"Me."


	9. Adolphus' Secret

CHAPTER NINE: Adolphus' Secret

Hikaru fell down to the ground, landing neatly on both her feet. She opened her eyes and scanned the semi-solid darkness around her. Close to the wall, the light of the flame torches illuminated Hikaru's vision. But as she slowly walked away, going to the direction of the forest, the light from the torches dimmed until only the pale light of the moon and a few stars guided her way.

There was no sound in the night. It was silent, giving Hikaru the feeling that she was in a vast, tombless graveyard. The wind caressed her face gently yet its fingers were clothed in bitter cold and Hikaru's hand quickly went up her face to brush away the sting. Hikaru walked on, undaunted yet cautious not to cause any trouble for herself or Adolphus.

Hikaru tripped on something cold and hard. Unable to see clearly, she bent down to see what it was. Hikaru felt for something like cold steel or metal and raised it up to the moonlight. She frowned, wondering what a piece of machinery was doing in such a place. Unless Autozam has been in these parts, it was highly unlikely that the small piece would exist freely in Vena. Hikaru looked up and sniffed. The strong smell of wet earth told her she was near the forest.

Then, she heard it. Hikaru dropped the piece of metal and perked up her ears. She did hear something. Could it be...

The hand that touched Hikaru's left shoulder was not gentle. Hikaru struggled, trying to free herself from that painful grasp. But when she turned around, no one was there. Hikaru winced, clutching at her shoulder. It was wet and warm. When Hikaru brought her hand to her lips, she smelled blood.

_I don't understand, _she thought, confused. The wound had already healed perfectly that afternoon! To add to Hikaru's confusion, several regions of her body began to ache and bleed. Wounds were staring to appear and so were bruises. Hikaru, weighed down by her injuries, did not see him coming.

"You will die here!" Hikaru gasped as a pair of strong arms pulled her up and carried her farther from the town. Hikaru knew who was talking to her but those words did not come from his lips first, as Hikaru grimly remembered.

Hikaru raised her eyes up. The moon and stars were covered by a black cloud, which Hikaru realized later were the canopy of trees in the forest. Then, she was gently laid down to lean against a giant tree trunk, smelling heavily of moss and soil.

"I thought I was healed," she groaned, clutching at her side. The monster they encountered in the forest earlier apparently managed to break one of her ribs. Adolphus went to her in the dark, whispered something, and laid his hand on Hikaru's side. Immediately, Hikaru felt better.

"You have the power to heal," Hikaru said.

"My power is to see through people," Adolphus replied, checking Hikaru's shoulder. He tore Hikaru's sleeve and wrapped the wound in something soft and minty. Hikaru gritted her teeth. She could not see his face in the dark but she knew his voice. Hikaru was torn between trusting him and distrusting him.

"Then you did know about me calling for Lexxus." Hikaru used her uninjured arm to heave herself up without any help from Adolphus.

"Why did you follow me out?" he asked.

"I didn't feel like partying when several people are dead," she told him. Hikaru heard Adolphus walk farther from her. "Besides, I thought it rather strange that you would go out into the forest at this time of the night right after what happened---"

"My business is my own, Magic Knight," Adolphus snapped. "You have gone far beyond the safety of the gates and now, you have imposed upon me the task of having to protect you!"

"Excuse me!" Hikaru barked. "I don't need you to protect me! I can very well shield myself from any danger!"

"Well, this place is no ordinary place!" Adolphus barked back. "Death is the only way out of the forest!"

"Is that why you have come here, then?" asked Hikaru, moving closer to where his voice had come from. "To be killed? Adolphus, nothing can bring your loved ones back! If you die, Don and his brother would have no one left! No one!"

Adolphus grabbed Hikaru by the arms and said angrily, "Even if I will it for myself, I cannot die! As long as her will commands it, I cannot be touched by anything! No monster can harm me! No evil can touch me! I do not get sick! I am willed to live forever! I am everlasting!"

Hikaru was getting more confused. What was Adolphus talking about? Is he saying he's immortal? But how could that be?

"Adolphus? Who is _she_?"

Adolphus took a sharp intake of breath and released Hikaru. "I dare not tell you. It is best that you know nothing."

"Well, that's helpful, really," Hikaru sarcastically said. "Look, since you can read minds anyway, I guess there is no point in denying that we have come from the castle to search for the true Pillar of Cephiro."

Hikaru heard Adolphus footsteps walking away from her. She followed him. "Then your quest is in vain, Magic Knight. You will not find the Pillar here. At least, no longer."

"Huh? Adolphus, stop talking in riddles and tell me---"

Hikaru stopped talking and walking at the same time as a foul, rancid smell reached her nostrils. She heard a faint growl from somewhere and it was not her stomach.

"Get down!" Adolphus shouted. Hikaru fell face flat to the ground and something bristly brushed the top of her head. The ground shook slightly.

_The monster_! Hikaru stood up and heard the sound of a weapon being slashed. Hikaru could not see in the dark. She had to do something!

_Flame of Lexxus, re---_

Wait! If she calls out for the power to wield fire, she might kill Adolphus instead.

Hikaru had to think twice. Then, she remembered.

"Escudo!"

A bright, red light issued from the red orbs on Hikaru's gauntlets as Escudo materialized in front of Hikaru. Hikaru grabbed the hilt of the sword and marveled as it glowed brightly.

The Pillar is nearby!

_Adolphus!_

Hikaru remembered her promise to Master Clef that she would protect the true Pillar with her life. So she will.

_Please, let me see through the dark..._

Miraculously, Hikaru's vision cleared and she could see Adolphus struggling with the monster. Hikaru charged forward, bringing the blade of Escudo down on the monster's neck. Just as Sierra had promised, she was able to make Escudo lighter, faster, and sharper. Hikaru's swing brought the blade through the thick, bristle-ridden hide of the monster and out down the underside of the neck. Hikaru felt something hard make contact with the blade inside the monster's body. She pulled the blade out and stepped back. She saw Adolphus back away from the carcass as it exploded.

Hikaru bent down and picked up a piece of the monster's body. It was similar to the one she tripped on outside the gates.

_Machinery... _It came to Hikaru then that the people of Cephiro have begun their rebellion against the castle by using the same technology the allies have given them. If Autozam has been providing technological machinery to Cephiro, a land where will was power, who knows what other monsters and devilry walked the land?

Angrily, Hikaru grabbed Adolphus' hand and led him out of the forest. There, she asked him, "What is going on in this place, Adolphus? Escudo has determined you to be the Pillar of Cephiro and if you do not tell me the truth, everything we have labored for in this land would have been in vain! Tell me now!"

Adolphus looked painfully at Hikaru and at that moment, she seemed to be looking straight into Eagle Vision's eyes. "I wished to be released from her spell but it was not to be. She has held us prisoner for so long and I have felt that my family needed to get out before it was too late. I was to go with them beyond the forest to the castle but she kept me from going and sent them alone to the lair of the monsters! She will kill anyone I hold dear to become the Pillar of Cephiro and drive away the foreign allies!"

"Who is this woman you are talking about? And why would she want to become the Pillar?"

"My power to heal comes from her, Magic Knight! My power for vision is what she needed. She and I were made one by a spell that cannot be undone unless the perpetrators are killed!"

"Then she is after you!"

"No!" Adolphus said out loud. "If I die, she loses half of her power. It is not I she wants to kill."

"But you are the next Pillar!" Hikaru said adamantly, pointing to the glinting Escudo. "Escudo is all the proof we need to know who you really are!"

"I don't know how your sword works, Magic Knight, but I cannot become the true Pillar of Cephiro because I am not a healer."

Hikaru heard the gates being moved in the distance. "What do you mean?"

"The true Pillar of Cephiro must be able to heal, Magic Knight. It is a skill that comes from will and an innate power to provide comfort and security. Who else do you know can do such?"

Hikaru tried to think. She looked at the gates and saw that they were open but was now being closed. Several figures were moving inside the gates. Who? Who?

_Healer..._

"Fuu!" Hikaru shouted. Hikaru could not understand how Escudo could have been wrong. Escudo should know better. But now, Hikaru must go and warn her friends first. They must leave the town and go as far away as possible.

"Wait, Magic Knight!" Adolphus shouted but Hikaru was already limping towards the town gates, which were closing fast on her. Then, she saw Fuu and Umi standing beyond the gates, facing a bent old woman.

"Fuu! Umi!" Hikaru shouted. "Get out now! Get out!"

Fuu and Umi shook their heads at her. The old woman looked at Hikaru.

"Do not dare contend with my power, Magic Knight!" the old woman said, raising her arms to the air. The gates closed in and Hikaru was too late. She clutched at the bars and watched in fury at the old woman.

"Let my friends out, you wicked hag!" Hikaru shouted.

The old woman went to Hikaru and saw Escudo glowing. "Ah! The symbol of the Pillar... yes... It is lovely.... But I don't think your friend deserves to hold that prize." The old woman looked at Fuu.

"You think she's the Pillar but she's not!" Hikaru yelled. "I---"

Umi glared at Hikaru. Hikaru bit her lip and did not complete was she was going to say.

"I have lived for so long and seen so many wrongs done to my beloved Cephiro all because of the blunders one young Pillar has made," the old woman said, walking over to Fuu. "I do not wish to live another century with someone as incompetent as you bring this paradise to its end, Magic Knight."

Hikaru saw Adolphus scale the gate and land on the other side.

"Adolphus! Let me in!"

But Adolphus did not look back at her. He walked straight towards the old woman and stood by her. Hikaru had to think fast. She could call on the Rune God and lay waste to the old woman and Adolphus but what about the other innocent people in the town?

The old woman blasted Hikaru away from the gates as they opened. Slowly, the old woman made Fuu walk towards the gates. Hikaru, who landed with her back on the ground, stood up again and wondered why the old woman was letting Fuu go.

"Oh, please no!" Umi cried out. When Hikaru threw a questioning look at Umi, her blue-haired friend mouthed, "Poison."

Hikaru had no ideas left. Adolphus and the old woman were in league. He had managed to give out only a sliver of the evil truth of the town and then went crawling back to his half. To think that he sent his family to be killed by the monsters of the forest made Hikaru furious.

Fuu was only two steps away from the outside of the gates. Hikaru prayed. _Help us._

"Puu puu puuu!"

Hikaru looked up and saw Mokona and the little boy Don pushing Fuu back inside the gate. The old woman was momentarily startled.

"Get away, boy!" she shrieked, trying to push Fuu the other way. But Mokona and the boy were pushing back with all their might, a frozen Fuu sandwiched between them.

"Uncle! Help us!" Don begged Adolphus. Hikaru watched as the private battle being fought between Adolphus' love for his nephew and the old woman's spell on him registered on his face. Hikaru felt almost sorry for him.

"All right! This is what you want, eh?" The old woman swung her staff to the side, sending the boy and Mokona flying to the air and landing with a thud on the ground beside Hikaru. The boy was unconscious and so was Mokona but they were still alive. Anger seized Hikaru's heart but she could not do anything. One more step was all it was going to take to kill Fuu.

A strange thought occurred to Hikaru. Escudo glowed in the presence of Adolphus. If he is the true Pillar of Cephiro, he will be able to hold on to the sword and use it. It would be risky, Hikaru knew. He could either kill the old woman or Fuu and Umi. But Hikaru had to try and bet on Adolphus' conscience.

"Adolphus!" Hikaru shouted at him. Adolphus looked at her. "Would you do anything for Don? What would you do for Cephiro, huh? What are you willing to lose?"

Umi looked at Hikaru questioningly. "Hikaru! What in the world are you talking about? Hikaru, no!" Hikaru threw Escudo towards Adolphus. The old woman laughed.

"Adolphus!" He caught the sword in his hand.

Adolphus closed his eyes for a moment as the old woman started to push Fuu one last time. He opened his eyes and said, "Everything."

Umi was yelling something but it all seemed unintelligible to Hikaru. Fuu tried to keep her balance as her foot began its descent on the few inches of ground beyond the gates. Hikaru saw Adolphus run forward with Escudo glowing brightly in his hand and then...

He thrust Escudo into the old woman's back. The old woman howled in pain and she fell down to the ground. Fuu, a second from falling to the ground dead, was pushed back inside by Hikaru. Umi ran outside to get Don and Mokona. Hikaru and Fuu embraced, sighing with relief.

"Oh, Hikaru!" Fuu said, smiling gratefully. "She thought I was the Pillar of Cephiro! Like that would happen in a thousand years!"

Hikaru laughed. "Just to humor you, no, I don't think that will happen in a thousand years, Fuu."

Umi was also very much relieved. "I don't think Old Woman Naidah would have stopped at killing Fuu, you know. She could have butchered us, too."

Suddenly, the body of the old woman stirred. Fuu, Umi, and Hikaru backed away.

"She's still alive! I can't believe this!" Umi exclaimed.

"Magic Knight of Fire!" Adolphus handed Escudo back to Hikaru. She held on to the hilt of the sword and smiled at him.

"Thank you, Adolphus. I---"

Hikaru gasped as Adolphus pushed his body onto the blade. The sword embedded itself through his midsection. Fuu and Umi gasped themselves. Hikaru trembled as Adolphus held on to the sword, not letting Hikaru pull it out of his body.

"N-No..." Hikaru stammered. Adolphus was slowly falling down to the ground. He held on then to Hikaru as she tried to hold on to his dying body in her arms.

"Y-You didn't h-have to do t-that," she told him, her tears falling down on his face.

"She and I were one, Magic Knight. If I continue living, she continues living. The spell can only be broken with both our deaths."

Hikaru sobbed. "But you're the Pillar... I swore to find you and protect you...."

Adolphus smiled. "I am not the true Pillar of Cephiro. T-Trust me, Magic Knight. I know w-what I'm talking about..." He looked at Don in Umi's arms. "Give Don and his brother to people who will love them and take good care of them. I-It's... the... l-least I-I... could d-d-do... f-for Eila... The people are now free. T-Thank y-you...."

Adolphus expired his last breath and then there was no more. Hikaru's tears fell in torrents. Umi and Fuu turned away, their own tears of regret flowing from their eyes. Several people from the hut began coming out. The guards, who were put to sleep by the old woman, woke up.

"What's going on here?" asked the purple-haired warrior. They saw the old woman on the ground and Adolphus being cradled by a weeping woman.

"What am I doing here?" one woman asked. "This is not the town of Hoam, is it?"

"Who are these people?" asked another. Fuu knew that the spell has indeed been broken and none of the people in the imaginary town would remember Old Woman Naidah. The forest also disappeared.

Umi and Fuu approached Hikaru. They must leave immediately.

"Hikaru," Fuu said gently. "We must go." Hikaru sobbed silently.

At that moment, a shadow and several blinking lights fell above them. Umi and Fuu looked up and saw a giant spacecraft looming above them.

"What's that?" asked the people.

_NSX, _Fuu thought happily. Just as she was about to bend down to tell Hikaru the good news, Fuu stepped backward.

Hikaru was looking straight up at the lights.

Then, she screamed.


	10. Back on NSX

CHAPTER TEN: Back on NSX

Fuu and Umi were unable to do anything but watch in horror as Hikaru began to wail like a madwoman. They and the rest of the unknowing people around them did not notice several men coming down from the giant spaceship above.

"Let us through!"

Fuu and Umi turned and saw Geo heading towards the center of the crowd gathered around Hikaru. Geo and some men Fuu did not recognize went to Hikaru, trying to calm her down.

Geo asked Fuu, "Why is she like this?" He tried to pry Hikaru's hands from the corpse of the man but she would not loosen her grip.

Fuu could not explain. It was all too horrible, even for her. Umi stood in silence, her face an expressionless mask. Then, Don began to stir and he woke up just as Mokona was coming to.

"Look!" A man pointed to the spot where the forest used to lay. "Is that a cave?"

Indeed, when Fuu and Umi looked, it was a cave. From its mouth issued green gas that smelled like rotten eggs and petroleum. Then, two monsters emerged, pawing their legs, preparing for an attack. Umi stomped her foot and shrieked, "I can't believe this! If this doesn't stop, I'm just going to have to---"

Umi raised her hands in midair, about to summon her saber but Fuu slapped her arm and hissed, "Not here, Umi! Not now!"

Umi put down her hands and scowled. Geo looked from the advancing monsters back to Fuu and Umi. "Get Hikaru into the ship. My men and I will take care of this."

"Okay." Fuu and Umi forced Hikaru's fingers from Adolphus' bloodied shirt and dragged her to NSX. Two men stayed with them and escorted them up the plank that led to the interior. Before Fuu or Umi could do anything to calm Hikaru down, a bearded man approached them, and with one swift motion of his hand, injected something into Hikaru's arm. Within seconds, Hikaru's shoulders slumped forward. Umi caught her limp body in her arms.

"What the hell did you do to her?!" Fuu yelled at the man, afraid that whatever it was he used on Hikaru would damage her friend completely. The bearded man did not smile but offered them an explanation.

"It will make her sleep for several hours to a day, perhaps," he said. Then, he walked away from them. "Just in case you need some of the stuff to knock you out, just holler or tell Geo."

Fuu and Umi stared after the bearded man as he disappeared behind several control booths inside the spaceship. "Who was that?" asked Umi. Fuu shrugged, bearing some of Hikaru's bulk.

Fuu heaved. "You were right, Umi. For a thin girl, Hikaru does weigh like an elephant."

"Ha! Told yah!"

They walked cautiously inside the largely populated spaceship. Men and women in drab clothing but wearing the most high-tech gadgets both women had ever seen in their lives ran to and fro. Many of them had microphones installed in earphones attached to their ears. People seemingly talked in monologues when they were actually speaking to another person at another part of the grand spacecraft. Robots of all shapes and sizes littered the area, many of which were tasked to clean or interphase with machines inside the spaceship for repairs, additional energy input, and data storage. Fuu could not help but gawk in awe.

"Welcome to Cephiro's cradle of robotics," muttered Umi. "Now, where to put Hikaru?"

Fuu pointed to a steel bench and they laid Hikaru down. Fuu and Umi sighed.

"What do we do now?" asked Umi.

"Well, I don't think you'll be interested in watching what's going on with Geo and the monsters so just stay here with Hikaru."

Umi did not argue. Fuu went to the forefront of the spaceship where a large glass window afforded her a view of the land below. She could see Autozam men, Geo included, battling against the two monsters. One had already lost an ear and a horn. The other lost its right eye. Fuu watched as Geo perfectly used two weapons almost at the same time: a light saber and a saber gun.

The fight was bloody and two or three of Geo's companions had been mortally wounded. In the end, Geo managed to kill both monsters and just like with the other monsters, the two exploded. Fuu shielded her eyes from the blinding flash of light. When the smoke cleared, she saw Geo bend down and pick up the fragments of the monsters' bodies.

Fuu turned away from the window, just as Geo came in, followed by the people from the town. In his arms he carried Don and Mokona.

"Hey, sorry we weren't able to welcome you ladies back to Cephiro," Geo apologized. Fuu took Mokona from him. "But it's really nice to see you back."

Fuu smiled. She could not lie to Geo about feeling nice to be back. "About Hikaru---"

Geo shrugged and moved his head in the direction of where Hikaru was. Fuu saw a man carrying Hikaru in his arms with a peeved Umi being held back by two men from kicking and doing bodily harm on them and their comrade.

"Umi's still quite the same," Geo said, smiling slightly. Fuu nodded.

"Quite. Yet many things have changed, too. I don't know what happened to Hikaru."

Geo ordered some women to take the townspeople to a comfortable area in the spaceship.

"We need to talk," Geo told Fuu. He looked tired and serious. Fuu nodded.

"I agree. I have a lot of questions. Perhaps you'd be honest enough with us to tell us the truth about Cephiro."

Nodding, Geo handed Don to a woman. Geo asked Fuu to follow him. He told the men to take Hikaru to The Room where she can rest quietly, away from the hustle and bustle of the people. When Fuu and Umi were sure that Hikaru would be safe, they followed Geo to another room.

It had a large widescreen, just like in the movie houses. A set of leather couches stood face to face. He made Fuu and Umi sit down. Fuu laid Mokona down on one of the smaller couches. Geo pressed a button somewhere near the door and a control panel popped out of the wall.

"Drinks, some medicines and bandages, and probably a bit of food for our guests," he said into the built-in microphone.

A female voice answered, "Yes, sir, Captain!"

Then, he walked over to the Magic Knights and sat down.

Umi could not wait to start. "You were a bit late on the rescue, Geo," she said haughtily. Geo grinned abashedly. "Sorry, Umi. For the past week NSX has been in outer space, monitoring events in the northern regions of Cephiro. Lantis has contacted us of your arrival while we were in the north and much as we wanted to come, we could not."

"Events?" asked Fuu this time. "What's going on there?" She and Umi lurched sideways. She also caught Mokona just in time before he fell to the floor. Mokona whimpered but he was still asleep. A muffled noise outside told them that the spacecraft was lifting up into the air.

Geo cringed. "Big trouble. But the real trouble is that we don't know what exactly was happening, with all those monsters cropping up. Well, after disposing of those monsters a while ago, we think we already have an idea."

He dug something from his pants pocket and flung it at Umi. Umi caught a disfigured ball of metal and wire in her hands. She raised it up to the light and examined it.

"It looks like part of a machine to me," she said, twirling it. Geo nodded.

"Exactly." Using the buttons on his digital wristwatch, Geo turned the wide screen on. An image came into focus. It was the image of one of the monsters.

"What's that?"

"We've been monitoring the north because that's where the heaviest concentration of monster attacks has been," explained Geo. He pushed another button and the monster's hide faded to reveal what looked to them like a complicated diagram of wirings and channels.

"Is that what I think it is?" Fuu leaned closer to the screen.

"We took scanning vision rays of the monsters from the north but could find nothing. However, the level of technology here in the south is much weaker and we were able to penetrate. The hides weren't thick for no reason."

_Ah, so that's why those monsters exploded_, thought Fuu. Umi flung the piece of machinery back at Geo.

"Why would anyone build these robotic monsters, huh? I mean, if these crazy people really wanted to scare the ministers of the castle into going with their demands, why use these measly substitutes? Hell, Zagato did much better."

Geo looked at Fuu, helpless. Fuu sighed and said, "They're not scaring the castle, Umi. They're trying to scare Autozam."

"Why would Autozam be? Are you?" Umi asked Geo pointedly. Geo, unused to being questioned heavily by two women all at once could not answer.

"With the arrival of Autozam, much of the way of life of Cephiro has changed. Culture and traditions remained but Autozam has brought with them an increased awareness of technology and a dependence for it, too," said Fuu, watching the screen as the monster view changed from dorsal to ventral.

Geo scratched his chin and looked sadly at Umi. "We cannot deny that we are not welcome in Cephiro for a lot of people. You've always had this thing going on with a Pillar and all that mystical stuff. Autozam does not rely on such beliefs. I guess, our culture has become an antagonist to them. Bugger, really."

Umi pouted. "I don't think that's any fair! Do you, Fuu?"

"No, it's not fair," replied Fuu, turning her head slightly to look back at Geo and Umi. "You cannot stop the multitude from feeling that way. What we must do, though, is restore their faith in the ministry of Master Clef because for them, he's the last link they have to security without the Pillar."

"They're losing faith in Master Clef?!" Umi asked angrily. "That's just thick of them! After all the poor man has gone through and this is how they repay him! Rebellion!"

Fuu felt for Umi and Master Clef, too, but the people of Cephiro always come first. Master Clef will have to do something about the situation. What would it take for the people to have faith in him again?

"Clef's role in Cephiro is to oversee the politics and economics of Cephiro," Geo told them. "He must have a Pillar to work with because Clef cannot do this thing alone. Hardworking and true as he is, the people of Cephiro will always cling to the idea of the Pillar."

"They do not see what it takes to become the Pillar," murmured Umi. "I've seen what it has done to Emeraude and to Hikaru. I do not want to see it happen to anyone I care for again."

Geo turned the screen off just as the drinks, the medicine, and some weird looking sandwiches arrived. Having not eaten any dinner, Umi and Fuu dug into the food. Afterwards, they cleansed each other's wounds. Some of Mokona's scratches were taken cared of by Fuu.

"It is the will of the people that keeps this ball of earth alive, Umi," Geo told them. "I have spent my life with machines and in the blink of an eye I could have told you all I know. Yet whenever I'm in Cephiro, there's something about it that will always be shrouded in mystery and I love it. I couldn't care less if our computers would not be able to scan and keep track of every data available here. I like Cephiro just the way it is. Eagle realized that, too."

"Eagle?" Fuu now asked. Hikaru had been close to Eagle and sometime before, she had assumed that Hikaru and Eagle did hit it off romantically during her stay in the NSX. Eagle had seemed besotted with her red-haired friend. "By the way, where is he? And why are you the captain of this ship now?"

A sad, pained look crossed Geo's face and both Umi and Fuu knew.

"Eagle has been dead for seven years," he said, wiping his eyes.

"The medicine you created did not work?"

Geo shook his head. "No, there was no medicine." Fuu was shocked. Eagle was willing to risk his life for that medicine. "After the liberation of Cephiro from Debonair, Eagle halted all research. Instead, he directed everything to the reconstruction of Cephiro and the development of its technology. He passed away in his sleep, in peace. We couldn't have asked for anything more."

There was long pregnant silence after Geo told them about eagle's death. Fuu and Umi worried about how Hikaru would take the news. Eagle was among her closest friends in Cephiro and they knew she trusted Eagle with her life. He also knew Lantis better than anyone else and now that he was dead, Hikaru would never really know Lantis unless he volunteers the information.

"Have you traced the creators of these monsters yet?" Umi asked, breaking the silence. Geo said no.

"There could be tens or hundreds or thousands who create these things. The problem is that they managed to cross-breed or mutate certain animals through the use of technology we shared with them. By deliberately and inappropriately combining various strains of animals and parasites and a menagerie of pests, they have created several forms of monstrosities that I could not even begin to describe. The implications are staggering. Couple that with Cizetan sorcery and Fahren ingenuity, Cephiro is on its way to a real political turmoil."

Umi was starting to feel the sting of the cut on her forehead. "Oh, dear. I know Cizeta and their ways. Using their skills for devilry and mischief would surely get one into trouble."

"So it is the same with Fahren," added Fuu, remembering the princess Aska, and her loyal servant (_or could it be boyfriend now, I wonder_) Sang-yung with a smile.

Geo noticed Umi swaying in her seat. "I think the both of you need to rest. I will not ask you to tell me of what you were doing with all those people in the middle of a clearing with monsters nearby."

"I do hope we don't go too far from the south," said Fuu, carrying Mokona and standing up, followed by Umi. Geo opened the door and escorted her and Umi out. Two females came and helped out Umi, who muttered something about not feeling to well at the moment. They led her to a room and took care of her. Geo and Fuu continued walking down a stretch of corridor made of steel and blinking lights. Doors slid open or close by pressing a set of numbers on a digit pad by the door.

"We'll only be going to outer space for tonight after which we will be traveling to towns, delivering these people to their proper homes. How they all converged and got to the south will always be a wonder to me. The dead bodies we saw were buried in that place. I do hope it's all right," said Geo opening the door for her and standing aside as she walked in. There was a single bed and a writing desk. No other furniture was present. "Where are you headed anyway?"

"Towns in the south first," answered Fuu, plopping down on the bed. She pushed Mokona gently to one side, careful not to wake him up. "Did Lantis tell you what we're doing back here in the first place?"

Nodding, Geo said with a grin, "Yeah, he did tell me and he was mightily pissed off. I could feel his wrath permeating our screen here on NSX. I wish you good luck, Magic Knight, and a good sleep."

"Thank you, Geo."

Geo nodded, closed the door, and went back to the cockpit.


	11. Wireless

_Here's the chapter where Zazu first appears. Enjoy!_

CHAPTER ELEVEN: Wireless

Zazu turned his head around and saw Geo back in the cockpit. He was speaking with one of the vice-commanders and from the snatches of the conversation, Zazu heard of going back up to space for a day before delivering people back to their homes.

When Geo caught his eye, Zazu turned back to the screen in front of him, which showed him various plot and trade points for a smooth journey on the NSX. It was a few seconds later before he felt a heavy but gentle hand on his shoulder.

"The Magic Knights are on board," Geo said. Zazu nodded but kept his eyes glued to the screen.

"Yes, I saw," replied Zazu. He did not see Geo smile.

"You've been working too hard, Zazu. Why don't you go have a small break? I'll have one of the rookies handle this post for you."

Zazu opened his mouth to argue but he closed it anyway. There really was no point, especially since he was indeed burned out from all the work and traveling. Things have been much more heavy and exhausting since Eagle...

"Yeah, maybe I do need a break," Zazu said as he stood up. Geo gave Zazu a leveled look. Years ago, Zazu had been a boy, barely tall enough to reach Geo's chest. Now, Zazu had grown to be a young man and when Geo looked at him, he was strongly reminded of Eagle. Fearing that Zazu might notice the pain in his eyes, Geo looked away and walked over to one of the stand-by rookies and pointed to Zazu's vacant seat. The rookie, a man with disheveled hair, sat proudly on where Zazu had been sitting earlier and began typing a series of commands on the keyboard.

Geo escorted Zazu out of the cockpit. Zazu could not help but grin.

"That rookie did not look the bit excited to me," he sarcastically said. Geo chuckled in spite of himself.

"He was ecstatic. Heck, Zazu! You're the youngest vice-commander on this battleship and my second in command. A lot of them admire you," Geo told him, which made Zazu even sadder. It didn't matter to him one bit if he was promoted any further. Eagle was gone and things would never be the same again. And now that the Magic Knights are back, Zazu could not bring himself to come to them and tell them about Eagle.

"Fuu and Umi already know about Eagle," Geo explained. Zazu heard the note of sadness in Geo's voice in spite of Geo's doubled effort to hide it. "Hikaru fell unconscious after what happened down there."

"You want me to talk to her," Zazu said darkly. Geo instantly felt guilty. He knew Zazu loved Eagle and worshipped the man. To ask what he was asking Zazu was not fair. He would not do it himself. But Zazu merely gave an imperceptible nod and smiled at Geo, not allowing the apprehension to be seen through his eyes.

"No problem, Geo," he said, walking away. "Eagle would not have wanted me to conceal the truth, especially from Hikaru. I'll see you later."

Geo stared after Zazu's retreating back, hoping against hope that Hikaru would not lose it again, just as she had earlier.

Hikaru slowly opened her eyelids, adjusting her eyes to the bright, white light that attacked her eyesight. She blinked furiously and tried getting up when a voice said, "You're not completely healed yet, Miss Hikaru. You should rest for a longer while."

Hikaru turned her head towards the voice and saw a young man laying a food tray down on a steel table beside where she was lying. When Hikaru's eyesight returned to normal, she squinted at the man's face and tried to recall where she had seen him before.

"Do I know you?" she asked groggily. The young man faced her and grinned. Hikaru's eyes widened.

"Z-Zazu? Is t-that really y-you?"

Zazu gave a boyish laugh and sat down on Hikaru's bed. "Yeah, it's me."

Hikaru smiled brightly. "Gee, you've--- you've _grown_!" Hikaru looked at Zazu's features. Gone was the lively and oftentimes annoying little boy she met ten years ago on NSX. Staring down at her was a young man, an older version of Zazu, but whose eyes remained young but tinged with a deep sadness that did not escape Hikaru's notice.

She suddenly felt strange. Eagle was the captain of the ship, the commander and leader of Autozam. He would have been first to come to her. And where was Adolphus? Oh dear, what had happened... Hikaru's mind was a total blank and her head felt like it was going to explode. She held her hand up to her head and groaned.

Zazu's hand went to her forehead and through her closed eyelids, she saw the lights close and they were enveloped in darkness. Hikaru started to feel better.

"Eagle's dead," Hikaru blurted out. Zazu said nothing but Hikaru felt his fingers freeze on her skin. "Tell me the truth, Zazu."

"Yes," he finally answered. Hikaru sighed sadly.

"Deep in my heart, when Adolphus died, I knew that Eagle was gone, too," she told him, letting the tears slide down her closed eyes. "It was foolish of me to expect that he would have waited until I came back so we could talk again like we used to." Hikaru laughed, strained, as Zazu listened to her in the dark. He was glad that he closed the lights. There was something comforting in the dark, he realized. Or was it just shared pain with Hikaru? Misery does love company---

"I don't want another Debonair popping out of nowhere again," Hikaru said strongly, sniffing. "I have to stop feeling guilty, right? Adolphus killed himself. It was not my choice but he had to die. He knew that, right? He did the right thing. I should not have lost my wits."

Zazu felt for Hikaru's hand. "Things are as they are and should be, Miss Hikaru," Zazu told her. "As Eagle would have said, we cannot rest on our laurels and dwell on our faults forever. We must move on and remember those who have helped make us what we are and reach where we are. I will remember him forever."

Hikaru nodded. "You do know why we are back?"

"Lantis told us as much," he replied and he felt Hikaru's fingers ball into a fist. "We weren't expecting you to come back anymore."

"We weren't expecting to be back either. We were called... again. Cephiro needs us."

"It seems that even with the alliances, Cephiro is still nothing without its precious Pillar, which you tried to abolish."

"That's why we have continued," Hikaru said, opening her eyes to welcome total darkness. "Our conscience would not let us leave Cephiro in chaos. _We are one._"

Zazu frowned. They are one? What did she mean? Zazu did not like what he heard. It felt eerie and strange to his ear. It didn't sound like Hikaru to him.

Thinking that she was still in shock after the death of her friend and news of Eagle, Zazu stood up from the bed and went to the door. "I will see you again when you are feeling better, Miss Hikaru."

"Yes, Zazu. I would like that. Thank you."

Zazu opened the door, looked back at Hikaru, and went out. Geo was right outside, waiting for him. Zazu grinned lopsidedly.

"Don't worry about her, Geo. She's stronger than we think. She will mourn for him but she will move on. Just as Eagle had trusted and had faith in her strength, so should we, you know?"

Geo sighed with relief. He nodded and walked alongside Zazu away from Hikaru's room.

"So, is my break over?" asked Zazu. Geo chuckled and slapped Zazu's back.

"No. You'll have it for another two days. Why don't you go have a chat with that girl from the logistics division?"

Zazu shook his head, laughing. "News doth travel fast in this ship, huh? Sorry to burst your bubble, Captain, but we are officially over."

"As of when?" Geo was interested in everything about Zazu. For a long time now, he had thought of him as a younger brother... a son, even.

"As of a day ago."

Geo gasped dramatically. "You lasted for only _a week_?!"

"Oh, don't look so scandalized, Geo! We all know you've had shorter romantic liaisons than I have! You must have picked up every other female on the NSX save for the elderly and the unmarried ones."

Geo shrugged. "Yeah, well----"

Zazu laughed. "Whatever, Geo! I really don't have time for such trivial things right now, okay? C'mon and let's have a drink."

"I can't, sorry," Geo said, on his way back to the cockpit.

Zazu grabbed Geo's sleeve and pulled him away to the mess hall. "I know. That's why you're drinking water. I, on the other hand, am having a large mug of cold beer. You still have some time to spare."

Geo rolled his eyes and let Zazu drag him. "Fine, little guy. Lead on."

---

Hikaru had left the room unnoticed. She went to the mess hall where several of the people from the nonexistent town were staying. As she entered, many of them stared up at her.

"Do we know you?" one woman asked. "I think I've seen you before."

_The old woman's spell was broken, _Hikaru thought. She did not give an answer.

A tug on the hem of her skirt caused Hikaru to look down. It was the little boy Don. Hikaru smiled and bent to pick him up. The boy was downcast.

"Uncle is dead," he said. Hikaru looked at him sadly and pressed his tear-stained cheek to her own.

"I'm sorry, sweetheart," she cooed. The boy sniffed.

"Who will take care of me and Del now?" he asked. Hikaru remembered that Don still had a much younger brother. Indeed, who will take care of them now?

Suddenly, Hikaru's knees felt weak but before she could stumble to the floor and drop Don, someone caught her from behind.

"Oh!"

"You shouldn't be carrying little boys this early, Miss Hikaru." It was Zazu. Hikaru gave an embarrassed laugh and gave Don to Zazu. Don did not smile at Zazu but did not make a tantrum either. He felt comfortable in Zazu's arms.

"Er, I felt much better with the food you brought. Thanks," Hikaru said. Zazu held Hikaru's hand and led her to a set of tables and chairs. She sat down, as did he. Don remained in his lap.

Hikaru looked around her. The mess hall was relatively large, like an outer space cafeteria. It was a square area, its three adjacent walls made of glass so everyone could see the black sky dotted with numerous blinking stars. One wall had a set of doors through which food, beverage, and people from all parts of the ship came.

"Shouldn't you be in the cockpit?" asked Hikaru. Zazu shrugged, watching Don tinker with the wires on Zazu's suit.

"Geo gave me a break, a much-needed one, anyway," he said. "I overworked myself."

"Yes, you do have a tendency to do that," Hikaru said. She smiled at Zazu. "I still find it hard to believe that you've grown older. Then again, ten years in my world is not equal to ten years in yours."

"True. We look like the same age now."

Hikaru giggled. "If I stayed in Cephiro, I would look older than you."

And had I stayed, I would have been able to see Eagle before he died.

"Miss Hikaru?"

Hikaru looked up and blinked her eyes. Zazu was looking at her strangely.

"Did I just space out again?"

Zazu nodded. Hikaru sighed. "I've been told that I've been doing much of that lately. Sorry. Were you saying something?"

"I was asking about Lantis."

Zazu saw Hikaru's eyes darken and her face close up. "What about him?" The way Hikaru asked told Zazu he should not have asked about him in the first place.

Zazu felt a little embarrassed. He scratched his head. "Er, j-just thought I'd like to hear some n-news about an old friend," he stammered. "We only get to communicate when something bides trouble---not that your arrival spelled trouble or anything. Lantis pretty much keeps to himself, you know."

"Sure do," Hikaru muttered. To Zazu's relief, she did not seem upset with him. "You know what, Zazu?"

"Yeah?"

"I'm not too sad about Eagle anymore." Zazu sighed.

"There's still Geo and you," she said, smiling at him. "We connect. We really do."

Zazu chuckled. "I'm glad we could do so wireless. I'm kind of getting sick and tired of talking through fiber optics to people I care about."

Hikaru chucked his chin playfully. Don clapped his hands and did the same.

"Look! Stars!"

The passengers of NSX stared in awe and wonder at the endless black sky dotted with shining little dots of lights. Hikaru felt the hairs on her skin stand up.

"Wow! It's so wonderful!" she exclaimed. Zazu raised an eyebrow.

"Hikaru, you've been to outer space before."

Rolling her eyes, Hikaru said, "Yeah, in Cephiro, at least. In my world, neither I nor any of the other girls could have the opportunity to go to outer space. But I bet outer space from earth would look like the same as in Cephiro."

"How do you know?" asked Zazu. Hikaru stared out at a large star in the distance, surrounded by a pool of smaller glinting dots.

"One of the greatest mysteries of life is the universe. No one knows where it came from or how it came to be. Different people have different ideas and beliefs about the universe. But there's one thing we all agree on---infinity." Hikaru turned her head and looked at Zazu.

"The universe is infinite. We cannot know for sure where it begins and where it ends. I believe that the universe is a place where time and confined space does not hold true always. Whoever controls the universe can play around with our notion of time and space. If the universe followed a set of rules, rules that could only have come from a human mind, it would only be this place where people wake up in the morning, live, and then die."

Hikaru's eyes went ablaze and Zazu was taken aback. "But the universe is what it is. Crazy and mixed-up. That's why my friends and I are here. That's why we have been called here in the first place. There is only one universe, Zazu. And I can say with certainty that somewhere in my world, there'd be another person looking at the same bright star I am looking at. It will connect us. Wireless."

Somehow, hearing Hikaru's passionate description about the universe made Zazu feel as he had felt the first time he boarded the NSX and saw the universe in his extreme youth. It felt exhilarating. It felt adventurous. It felt alive. Zazu looked out at the sky and felt blood rush into his veins. He felt good and warm. Now he fully understood why it was so easy for Eagle to love Hikaru and why it was so hard for him to leave Cephiro unchecked.

"Uncle Adolphus must be that one," Don said, pointing to the large star Hikaru had been looking at. Hikaru nodded.

"He probably is, Don," Hikaru told the little boy gently, as Zazu nodded to the stars in the sky, looking for the one star that would be Eagle. "He probably is."

---

He took the elevator to get up to the viewing deck, eager to reach the place. One hand's fingers tapped on the polished wall paneling of the elevator while the other held on tightly to the little girl's hand. She looked up at him in confusion, frowning.

"Father, where are we going?"

"The top, sweetheart," he said. Finally, the bell sounded and the steel doors opened. He rushed out, almost bumping headlong into a pair of old women. He pushed his way out, his daughter beside him, until they reached the viewing deck.

His daughter shifted from one foot to the other. She was too small to see anything down the tower but she was not complaining. Her father was acting strange, though.

"Did Mother come here very often?" she asked, thinking that this must be her mother's favorite place.

"No, she was scared of heights," he answered curtly, his eyes roaming about the viewing deck, looking for something. Or someone.

She knew her father was upset about something. What it was, she was too apprehensive to ask. And so she contented herself to look up at the sky, the only view her small height could afford her to see. It was late in the afternoon, and she could just see the last orange rays of the sun, mixed with hazes of purple and red. Yet in the distance, she saw the faint orb of the moon and a large star beyond to its right.

"Miss Hikaru loved watching stars," she whispered. Her father looked down at her. "In Cephiro, the stars burned bright at night. They were beautiful."

"And what else did this teacher of yours tell you?"

She tore her eyes away from the lone star and gazed up at her father. "We promised to keep it a secret. So I'm not telling you."

"I drove your teacher here early today," he told her. His daughter's eyes widened with excitement.

"Really? Did you see her disappear?"

"Er, no but why would you ask that---"

"Let's go, Father! She'll be back. I'm hungry!"

Knowing that it would be pointless to argue with his daughter who inherited the iron will of his late wife, he let her drag him back into the elevator and out of the tower. Yet long after he had gone home, cooked their dinner, and tucked her into bed, his thoughts were still on those three women.

No, they could not have disappeared without a trace. They must still be in Japan or anywhere else on this earth. He could not accept that anyone could just disappear without any hocus pocus going around. He could not let his daughter get caught up in such baloney, either.

He did not understand what it was that was drawing him into this event. He barely knew his daughter's teacher and should not have any business wanting to know what was going on with her. But he felt something stir inside him when he saw those three women board his taxi and the redhead's picture in the principal's office. She did not look crazy to him but there was something about her, an aura, perhaps, of mystery and darkness that did not sit well with him, especially because his daughter obviously adored the redhead and believed everything she was told.

Tomorrow, he'll check in with his friends at the police department.

---

When her father went out of her bedroom, she threw the covers off and went to the windows. She opened them and stared out into the dark night sky. The air was humid, telling her it has just rained. The sky was starless except for one bright star in the gray clouds.

She clasped her hands, as in prayer, and focused her eyes on the star. "Miss Hikaru, you're my favorite teacher. I will be waiting for you when you come back from Cephiro. I promise."

The star twinkled and shone even brighter.


	12. The Unthinkable

CHAPTER TWELVE: The Unthinkable

Dinner that night on the NSX was an enjoyable event. As compared to ten years ago, the people manning the gigantic battleship now were more friendly and informal. People talked animatedly, told jokes and laughed shamelessly. Geo, the new captain of the NSX, mingled with those of lesser positions than he and treated them as he treated his equals.

"I wish Eagle could be here to see this," Hikaru whispered, almost to herself.

But Umi heard her and gave her a scolding, wagging a finger in front of Hikaru's surprised face. "You see, that's where all the trouble starts from, Hikaru! Stop thinking about awful things and enjoy! We only have one life to live, my friend. I don't know about you but I sure as hell ain't going to sulk around waiting for the dead to come back to life! Live, Hikaru! Live!"

One of the men on the ship pulled Umi to her feet and began dancing with her to crude flute music being played by Zazu and a couple other cadets.

"How many had she had to drink?" asked Hikaru. Fuu, who was watching Don and several other children playing with Mokona, answered, "Last I checked, six mugs. And alcohol here is no joke."

Hikaru winced when on a drunken turn, Umi bumped her head against a low-lying metal beam.

"Yeah, figures."

Hikaru took a sip of her drink and caught Zazu's eye while he struggled with his flute. She smiled at him. A few seconds later, the music ended and Zazu rushed beside Hikaru.

"Hey!"

"Hey!" Hikaru smiled at him again and Zazu suddenly felt all warm and fuzzy. Strange.

Zazu nodded at Umi's direction. "Umi is quite a handful, isn't she?"

Laughing, Hikaru replied, "Sometimes, she is. But she's a good friend so we're going to let her have a break this time. And you? You used to be quite a handful, too, if I remember correctly." Hikaru glanced up at a group of young women staring at Zazu and then giggling amongst themselves. "And from what I'm seeing, you still are a handful, especially among the female population."

Zazu felt blood rise to his face and he bent his head low in embarrassment, then scratched his head. Looking at Zazu with his same old mannerisms made Hikaru feel less strange and alone.

"Er, not really. Heck, this is embarrassing!"

Hikaru laughed out loud and patted Zazu on the head. "I kind of have the feeling you've made a lot of pretty little things cry, huh?"

Zazu laughed. "I really don't know, Hikaru. Hey, could you do me a favor?"

"Fix you up with those girls?"

Zazu looked at Hikaru with terror in his eyes. "Hell, no! Please! If you have an ounce of mercy in your heart and soul, please! Don't… feed me… to the… hounds!" Zazu shuddered.

Even Hikaru felt sorry for him but she still found the situation funny. "All right. I'll get you out of here. However, I no longer have one-hundred percent recall of the NSX."

"Well, I do. I just need someone to shield me away from _them_."

So, the two crept stealthily away from the crowd of people and down several corridors. Zazu seemed to be running for his life, dragging Hikaru away from where everyone was.

At last, they stopped and Hikaru found herself in a room surrounded by stars. Hikaru thought she was right out in space.

"Marvelous!" Hikaru breathed, glancing up at the stars. This view was better than the one in the mess hall.

Zazu smiled up at the sky. "I know. This is where I go when I get too harassed by Geo or everybody else on this ship."

"I can understand," Hikaru said. "It's quiet here and peaceful."

"Eagle used to come here, too. I feel a little guilty for knowing because this was supposed to be secret and I followed him here whenever he was down. I think he would have severely punished me had he found out."

Hikaru held Zazu's hand and said, "You don't give Eagle much credit, do you? Did you really think that he did not even notice you following him?"

Zazu looked startled. "W-Well, I d-don't really know---"

"Eagle is… was a good man. He would never had punished you even if he caught you then."

They stood there silently looking up at the stars.

Then, Hikaru felt Zazu's hand quiver. She looked up at his face and saw him struggling with his emotions. "Zazu…?"

He looked into her eyes and she saw his tears. "I failed him. For years we tried to find the cure for his disease. It was all I lived for, you know?"

"But you were just a little boy, Zazu. What could you have done---"

Her words stung Zazu and he let go of her hand abruptly. Angrily.

"A boy!" he shouted, glaring at her, as his tears spilled out of his eyes. "I was a boy! I couldn't do anything! I did nothing!"

Hikaru stepped forward, trying to comfort Zazu. Now she understood the full extent of his despair and how he bravely tried to rein in his anguish in the face of duty.

"Don't say that, Zazu! You did a lot, if not most, than anyone here on this ship! No one expected it of you, Zazu! But you did! You were Eagle's friend and that's what matters!"

"It's not enough!" Zazu cried out to the stars, as if blaming them for taking his friend away. "Eagle was too young to die! It's not fair that he was taken out of our lives as if he had done everything he had to do in a lifetime!"

"What if he already has done so, Zazu?" she asked and Hikaru realized that her words were not meant for Zazu's ears alone but for hers, too. "It was Fate that led Eagle to become a great leader. But it was destiny that brought him to do what he was born to do! No one dies for no purpose, Zazu! If I die in Cephiro, fighting for a land that I cannot call my own, then it is my fate. But I die because it is what must be done and could only be done by me. That is my destiny and no one, not even the gods could stop it from happening just as you could not have prevented Eagle's death! Do you understand me, Zazu?"

"Fate and destiny," Zazu whispered, as he fell to his knees on the floor. "They are two different things, Hikaru. One you hold in your hands and will, the other holds you in its will. It is unacceptable."

Hikaru did not want for Zazu to become jaded. Eagle's death must have extremely affected Zazu to the breaking point.

"Zazu, we cannot always have what we desire---"

Zazu raised his eyes up to hers. Sad eyes, full of pain and broken promises.

"I brought you here so I could tell you what I really feel, Hikaru," he said. Hikaru blinked.

"What do you feel, Zazu?"

Zazu gave a half-hearted laugh. "I look at you and I see you, Hikaru. You look at me and you see a little boy."

Hikaru was starting to get confused. What's going on with Zazu?

"You look at Lantis and you see your future."

"Zazu, what has Lantis got to do with this conversation?" she asked him.

Zazu averted his eyes. "Nothing. Forget about what I said. I m-must have drunk too much, like Umi. Maybe more."

He stood up and walked past her. She held out a hand to stop him. "Zazu---"

Zazu smiled at her sadly. "Maybe if I always remain a little boy, I'll never die. Not for you, Hikaru."

She let go of his arm and he walked away, leaving Hikaru in the dark silence of the room.

"Where have you been?" asked Fuu when Hikaru appeared in the corridor leading to their rooms.

"Somewhere," she answered vaguely. "Where's Umi?"

Fuu walked beside her. "She passed out and we had to carry her into her room. Hikaru, I saw you leave with Zazu. When he came back, he looked terrible. And so do you right now."

Hikaru finally could not contain herself. She spilled everything to Fuu and Fuu listened. When Hikaru was finished, Fuu said, "The person's besotted with you."

"Huh?"

"Hikaru, Zazu absolutely likes you. Or didn't you notice the stares, the smiles, the winking. It drove Umi and me mad!"

Then, Hikaru groaned and slapped her forehead. "Oh, damn! How could I have been so stupid!"

Fuu patted Hikaru's shoulder. "I totally understand. I mean, you knew him when he was on the cusp of puberty and now that he's a grown man, you couldn't imagine him actually making a pass at you."

"No, I could not!" Hikaru exclaimed in horror. "Oh dear! What have I done? Have I misled him? And then he mentioned Lantis…. Oh dear! He isn't going to duel with Lantis, is he?"

The crazy turn of events was starting to make Hikaru paranoid. It did not dawn on her that Zazu would ever feel that way towards her. But yes, she was guilty of everything he told her. To Hikaru, Zazu would always be a little boy. When she told her students stories about the people of Autozam, Zazu played the role of the mischievous boy, who would do anything to please his superior, who was then Eagle. Hikaru shook her head violently.

Fuu could not help but whack Hikaru lightly behind her head. "Wake up, silly! Hikaru, this isn't the medieval times. Besides, Zazu's not that much of an idiot. If he ever learned anything from Eagle, it would have to be patience and understanding. Now, before you go crazy, I think you'd better get to bed."

Hikaru sighed and obeyed. She said goodnight and went into her room. As she lay on her bed, Hikaru thought about what Zazu told her.

_You look at me and you see a little boy. You look at Lantis and you see your future._

An image of Lantis appeared in her mind and Hikaru tried to brush it away but it won't go.

_What future would Lantis and I have? I am a Magic Knight and I have been called here for one purpose: to save Cephiro. There was nothing in the mission that required me to love Lantis or marry him or have children with him and live happily ever after…_

_Happily ever after? Do I even deserve such an ending to my life?_

"Damn," Hikaru muttered. "Stop it Hikaru. You're driving yourself nuts."

She closed her eyes and forced herself to sleep.

Hikaru was in the middle of a dream about giant cheesecakes and her feasting on them when she was jolted awake. Hikaru opened her eyes. Her bed shook. Frowning, Hikaru sat up and fell out of her bed when the whole room quaked.

She got out of bed and opened the door when the ship shook again. This time, the warning buzzers and alarms sounded. At that moment, Fuu stepped out of her room. Umi, still groggy, opened her door.

"What's going o---"

A huge blast sounded down the corridor, flinging the three girls back inside their rooms along with dust and debris.

Hikaru brushed the dust from her face and stood up. She went out of the room again, with Escudo hanging around her waist, and walked towards Fuu and Umi.

"Are you all right?"

Fuu and Umi rubbed their arms. "Fine. Just bumped ourselves a little. Let's get to the hall. Whoa!" The ship shook once more and the three held on to the walls for support as blast after blast followed. Finally, they arrived at the large hall where the people and passengers huddled for safety.

A couple of NSX soldiers passed by and Fuu stopped one of them. "What's going on?"

"We're being attacked!"

Fuu frowned. "By whom?"

"Cephiro!"

Another loud explosion racked the whole ship. NSX tilted sideways, flinging everybody in the hall sliding downwards to the right.

"Hold on to anything stable!" Fuu shouted as she grabbed hold of a metal bar attached to the wall. "Stay away from the walls!"

Hikaru and Umi dived to a low column of monitors attached to the floor and helped the other people hold on. When NSX tilted back to its normal position, Fuu ran towards Umi and Hikaru.

"We're being attacked by Cephiro," said Fuu as a small explosion echoed from the rear of the ship. Children were crying everywhere. Mokona appeared, bringing with him Don who had tear-stains on his cheeks and a bleeding finger.

"Puu puu puuuu!" Mokona wailed. Hikaru wrapped Don in her arms.

"His finger got caught trying to escape through a door," Hikaru said. "Mokona, where's his brother?"

"Puu puuu!" Mokona replied, pointing his bunny ears towards a group of women huddled together.

"Fuu, stay with Don and the women. A lot of them may have been injured. Umi and I are heading over to the cockpit," said Hikaru. Fuu nodded, took Don and went to the women with Mokona. Hikaru and Umi held on to each other and made a mad dash to the cockpit where men and women frantically typed on multiple keyboards and monitors to assess the damage to the ship.

"The stock exchange looks better than this place," Umi muttered.

"Captain, engines seven to eleven have been severely damaged," a cadet said. Umi and Hikaru heard Geo's voice.

"What about engine four and engine one?" he asked.

"Both good, sir," the same cadet answered. "But engines two, five, and twelve are all damaged beyond repair in outer space. We have to land immediately or we will crash, Captain."

Hikaru and Umi looked at each other worriedly. _Crash? _

"Geo!" Hikaru shouted. Geo turned his head but before he could utter a single word to Hikaru, a female cadet yelled, "Target missile coming towards us!"

"Shields up! Shields up!" Geo shouted but it was too late. The missile reached the NSX and exploded. Several monitors exploded, injuring many of those inside the cockpit, including Geo. Hikaru and Umi were able to duck under a desk, avoiding the blast.

"Geo!" Umi shouted. She and Hikaru ran towards Geo, who was brought down to the floor, his forehead bleeding.

"Oh dear," Umi whispered. "Geo, are you all right?" Geo winced as he stood up slowly, aided by Hikaru and Umi.

"I'm fine, thanks, girls. Are the shields up?"

"Yes, Captain." The cadet Geo had been talking to earlier was blasted off his seat, gravely wounded.

"Is Fuu up to the task of ship doctor?" asked Geo. "We only have one other doctor on this ship but we are loaded almost to the full and he could not keep up."

"Yes, Fuu's going to be all right," Umi said. "But not for long if the attack keeps on. Where are our attackers?"

"Quadrant two, arc four-point-one," Geo told her, pointing to a spot on the screen.

"Is that--- is that a-a r-r-robot?" asked Umi. Hikaru brought her face closer to the screen and saw that indeed, several giant robots were floating in outer space.

"This is not good," she said, turning to Geo. Then, she realized that someone was missing.

"Where's Zazu?"

Geo's downcast face told them everything. "Out there."

Hikaru and Umi watched the screen with terror as explosion after explosion played.

"I have to go out there!" Hikaru said but Umi held her back.

"Hikaru! Have you finally gone completely out of your mind?! You cannot summon the _mashins_ in outer space! You've never done so before!"

"I have no choice! Zazu is going to die if I don't help him!" Hikaru argued.

Umi tugged hard on Hikaru's red hair causing her to yelp in pain. "Don't be stubborn, Hikaru! If you die, then we'll have no hope of finding the last pillar of Cephiro!"

The cockpit went silent as all eyes turned to the two of them. Geo frowned, trying to understand what the two women were talking about.

"You're here to find the last Pillar of Cephiro?" he asked incredulously. "But I thought you had that silly rule removed from the land!"

"Yes, I did but there was a backlash. To make a long story short, without the true Pillar, Cephiro is going down and I mean _down_," Umi explained. Hikaru stared at the screen. She could just imagine Zazu killing himself by fighting those robots…

"Missile!" Hikaru cried but no one in the cockpit reacted.

"Space pod coming towards us, Captain," a cadet said. Geo ordered for the image to be maginified and Zazu's wounded face appeared. Without a word, Hikaru ran out of the cockpit.

"Hikaru! Wait!" Umi called out but Hikaru was gone. She went down the ship to where the battle machines and ammunitions of the NSX were kept. Hikaru arrived just as the steel doors creaked open. The space pod carrying Zazu tottered and then crashed into the ship. Hikaru and five men rushed to the space pod.

"He's stuck! The door won't open!" one shouted. The men tried pulling the door up.

"If he stays there for another minute without air, he's going to suffocate!"

Hikaru helped the men pull the door up until it gave way, emitting a popping sound and steam. Zazu fell off the seat and Hikaru caught him in her arms and pulled him out. Both of his legs were broken.

"Zazu! How could you do this, you idiot?!" Hikaru shrieked at the half-unconscious Zazu, who only gave her a sleepy smile and said, "Testing my limits, what else?"

"Out of the way! Out of the way!" a gruff voice yelled. The men surrounding Hikaru and Zazu parted to let the only other doctor pass. He bent down and gently touched Zazu's bleeding knees.

"Could be irreparable but we cannot be sure unless he's brought to the surgery room," he said. At once, two men lifted Zazu up.

"Hikaru, don't even think about it!" he said angrily, trying to squirm out of the men's grasps but the intense pain in his legs caused him to stop almost immediately.

"I have a choice between my life and the life of the passengers on this ship," Hikaru said. Then, winking at Zazu, she said, "Wish me luck!"

"Damn it, no! Hikaru, no! Stop her! Close the doors!" Zazu screamed. The men operating the controls for the doors obeyed but the doors took a long time to close and Hikaru, with no air helmet on, was on her way to diving out of the NSX.

"Close the doors!" Umi shrieked inside the cockpit. Even Geo was screaming out commands to hasten the closing of the doors.

_Whatever happens, get these people to safety, _Umi heard Hikaru's voice in her head.

"What?" Umi asked.

"Umi, what?" Geo asked. Umi watched the screen as a few feet from the opening, Hikaru turned her face and their eyes met.

_Get help from the castle if you have to. Or Cizeta and Fahren. _

"Hikaru, I'm going to kill you if you do this!"

"Close the doors, Geo!" Hikaru shouted. She breathed in deeply and ran the last remaining feet, amidst Umi and Zazu's shouts. She unsheathed Escudo and jumped out of the four-feet wide opening.

"Open the doors! Open the doors!" Zazu was now screaming but to no avail. It would take another fifteen minutes for the doors to open fully and Hikaru had no intentions of coming back without resolving the conflict.

"Curse you, Hikaru!" Umi cried as she ran out of the cockpit. She went to the platform and saw Zazu being held against his will, both of his legs tied up, as well as his bleeding arms.

"Hikaru! She jumped! Stupid girl!" Zazu kept on repeating as Umi passed him by. "Let me go! I'm coming after her! Don't you know who I am?! I am vice-captain of the NSX! I order you to get me another ship!"

As Zazu's shouts faded from her, Umi went up to the control booth and demanded to speak with Geo. They connected her to the cockpit as Geo's face appeard on the screen.

"The connection is bad, sorry," the controller said. Umi brushed it off and said to Geo, "Have them open the doors, Geo."

Geo shook his head. "I can't. If I do so again, pressure balance inside the ship would be tipped off and if it does, the whole ship is endangered."

"Then how come you were able to send Zazu out and then back in?!"

"We manipulate the air pressure inside the ship but doing so requires a lot of energy and more than half of the NSX's engines have been damaged and shut down," explained Geo. "I'm sorry, Umi. I can't have the doors opened."

The connection went dead. Umi growled and went back to the hall where Fuu and the others were. She found Fuu tending to a man's wounded back.

"Fuu!"

Fuu looked up to see a very worried-looking Umi. "Umi, what's wrong?"

"It's Hikaru!" Umi shrieked. "She jumped! Out of the ship!"

Fuu's eyes widened with horror. "What?!"

"Oh dear heavens!" a woman cried out at the sky. "Look!"

The people gasped as they all looked up at the dark, starlit sky. Fuu and Umi looked as well.

"Is that a human being out there?" a man asked. "Wait! That's the redhead!"

"Hikaru!" Don began to cry. Mokona jumped up and down, clapping his big ears as well as his hands. Umi slapped him on the back of his head.

"Mokona, you jerk! What's there to rejoice about?!"

Mokona massaged his head, murmuring, "Puu puuuuuuuu…."

"Wait a minute. Mokona might be telling us something," Fuu said, walking closer to the glass windows. "Is that Escudo in Hikaru's hands?"

Umi nodded. "Yes. I think it is. What are you thinking, Fuu?"

Before Fuu could say a word, a deep voice echoed inside her head.

_Pain destroys the body but fear destroys the soul, Magic Knight. Which end would you choose?_

"Wingdam!" Fuu said out loud. "Tell me what to do!"

_For whatever Cephiro has called you back, Magic Knight. Salvation!_

The moment Fuu began to talk to herself, Umi realized that Wingdam has started to speak in her thoughts.

_You called for me, Magic Knight._

Umi blinked. "Huh? Ceres? Did I call for you?"

_In your heart, yes. And I have heeded your call. Do not speak but do. You always have a choice, Magic Knight but you also have a duty. _

Umi rolled her eyes. "Yeah, yeah. Same old crap, same old drama. Now what do you want, Ceres?"

When Ceres made no reply, Umi sighed in frustration.

"That's just like you old rune gods!" To Fuu, Umi said, "Fuu, we've got to do something or Hikaru will die out there!"

Fuu made no contest. "I agree with you."

"Unfortunately, Geo won't let the platform doors be opened again, the jerk!"

"I understand his reluctance, Umi. We still have to find another way, though." A few seconds later, Fuu had an idea and she and Umi ran out to the back of the NSX, to an air vent.

"If we go out of this, it's going to be outer space," Fuu said, opening the vent. "How good are you at holding your breath?"

Umi snorted. "Better than your average Olympic swimmer, girl."

"Okay, then. Here goes."

Hikaru spent more than fifteen seconds floating in outer space. Too small to be noticed, target missiles missed Hikaru by inches but she could not hear a thing.

_Must be the vacuum thing, _she thought. Five seconds later, Hikaru was slowly starting to lose breath.

_I have to find a way to summon Rayearth without losing a breath of air._

But Hikaru could not. The only way she knew how was to shout out for Rayearth but doing so would mean expelling the last breath she had. If it does not work, she will suffocate and die.

_Hikaru, why do you fear now?_

Hikaru frowned and tried to still her heartbeat. _Rayearth?_

_Fear will lead you nowhere, Magic Knight. Let go of your fear and Cephiro will be saved._

_But I don't know how! I will die!_

_He who fears death thinks only of death and begets death. Why should death matter more than life, Hikaru? You can be dead and Cephiro will still stand a thousand millennia. Sometimes, Magic Knight, to give life you have to surrender life._

_But I thought we were supposed to find the Pillar! How would that happen if I'm dead?!_

But Rayearth no longer gave an answer. Hikaru was fast losing lung power. Another minute and her lungs would collapse.

_Have no other choice but to do this, _She thought bravely. _I mean, I managed to jump out of the NSX into outer space, right? What's a tiny little shout?_

_Fine, this is it._

"Rayearth!"

Before Hikaru completely lost air, she was pushed backwards into a closed space and flames burst out all around her.

_Can I breathe now? Can I breath now…_

Instinctively, Hikaru gasped for air. She waited for her bodily functions to cease but it did not happen. Instead, she was wearing a grand armor of light steel, furnished with gold and silver. Upon her head rested a ruby diadem.

"Rayearth!" Hikaru exclaimed, feeling her body with her hands. "I'm still alive!"

Instead of a reply from Rayearth, Hikaru was blasted backward as a missile hit her _mashin_. When Hikaru recovered, she saw several giant, flying monstrosities flying towards her.

"Uh-oh," Hikaru muttered, as she geared herself and the flaming sword in Rayearth's hand. When the enemies fired a fresh round of missiles, Rayearth swerved to the left, missing about ten of them. The others, though, were still locked on the _mashin. _So, Hikaru jumped up but one missile managed to explode at Rayearth's ankle.

"Aargh!" Hikaru shouted. Momentarily distracted, another missile hit right on Rayearth's chest. Hikaru's head hit the glass.

The urge to take up arms and take a mighty swipe at her attackers was strong but Hikaru stayed her hand. Inside those monstrosities could be people of Cephiro. Hikaru swore never to kill again, not when she has another choice.

But what choice does she have now? If she does not act sooner, not only would she die but also the whole of NSX would be destroyed.

Suddenly, she heard a muffled voice inside the pit.

"We are the true citizens of Cephiro! We wish none of you harm and we know that several of our people are inside the Autozam battleship, NSX! All we ask is for your immediate surrender of governance over Cephiro, as well as removal from our lands! This land is for Cephiro and we desire no one else to ever take precedence over it, especially foreigners!"

"But the people of Autozam are not here to conquer Cephiro!" Hikaru argued with the voice. "They are here to help you rebuild your lives after the destruction caused by Debonair!"

"Do you really think the people of Cephiro are that weak?" the voice asked. "We can do without the help of Autozam, or Fahren, or even Cizeta!"

"Oh, really? Then why the hell do you still need your precious Pillar if you're not weak?"

Hikaru turned around and to her amazement saw two other _mashins. _Ceres and Wingdam.

"You're here! Umi, that was you? How?"

Hikaru heard Umi laugh. "It's simple, really. Follow Hikaru's example. We jumped."

Back in the cockpit, Geo and the others stared in wonder at the _mashins _who appeared out of thin air.

"Hikaru!" Fuu yelled. "Look out behind you!"

But Hikaru moved too late and she got struck. Then, Rayearth stopped moving.

The muffled voice came again. "Who said we wanted a new Pillar after all?"

Umi was filled with wrath. "No fair, you S-O-Bs! Just because you lost an argument, you think you have the right to get pissed off! Well, now I am pissed off!"

Wingdam held Ceres back. "Wait! You don't want a new Pillar? Isn't that what you wanted?"

It strangely sounded like an evil laugh that answered Fuu. "The last two pillars we ever had were weaklings. They were never on our side, only on the side of the Masters of the Castle. They know nothing of our plight, our suffering. Now, it's time we give them an idea."

"But we are the Magic Knights!" reasoned Umi. "We have always been on your side! Everything we did was for you! For Cephiro!"

"It doesn't matter," the voice said, as the flying monsters began rushing forward to the _mashins _blocking their way towards the NSX. "We care nothing for the Magic Knights. You, like the rest of Cephiro, are just pawns in a game. Emeraude played it first with the priest Zagato."

"Then, who plays us?" asked Fuu.

The voice replied, "We do."


End file.
